The Little Hero
by Wyl
Summary: DA:O - Alim Surana is proof that sometimes the hero isn't always tall, handsome, strong, or even confident. But he manages to inspire others despite his shortcomings, and even get the girl.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: 2/18 Update - I've scaled way back the amount of background info that was previously in chapter 1, so hopefully this chapter flows better now without so much plot summarization bogging it down. But since****I pick up the game story in progress rather than starting at the beginning, this first chapter is basically setting the scene of where we are and summarizing what's happened up to this point. I get all of that out of the way up front and then we start moving forward.**

**This story is a bit of an experiment. I wanted to write a hero that isn't the typical strong, handsome type with unflappable confidence. It was a challenge to write a character that was ugly yet charismatic, weak yet capable, prone to mistakes yet intelligent, frustrating at times to others yet inspirational, etc. Let me know if you think I pulled it off or not.**

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* * *

"Alim!" exclaimed Alistair, shaking his head at his fellow Grey Warden marching along several meters ahead. "Are you even listening? I asked you a question."

"Huh? Sorry…" Alim replied distractedly, glancing back while continuing to walk. Most of his companions seemed to be in foul moods, so as the day progressed he'd been doing his best to just keep to himself. "What did you need?"

"We were _trying_ to get your opinion on these wolf attacks. Do you think they are becoming more frequent?" The party had already been attacked a few times since leaving Denerim on the North Road to begin their journey to Orzammar, and they weren't half way yet. The most recent skirmish had ended not even half an hour earlier, and though a dozen wolves hadn't posed a significant threat to the seven battle tested companions, it was still wearying.

After falling silent for a few moments, the younger warden shrugged. "This is a fairly desolate stretch of highway, so it does not surprise me. And we have seen warning signs a couple of times about wolves in the area, so apparently they are common enough to warrant that."

"Well, _I_ think there are more of them than usual," offered Alistair.

"Well that settles that, it _must_ be true," Morrigan mocked. The raven haired witch of the Wilds seemingly never missed an opportunity to tweak the former templar. Then again, her rapier-like wit had a way of finding its mark with pretty much everyone.

Making a sweeping gesture of his arm towards the pair, Alim answered, "Outside of my travel from the Circle Tower to Ostagar, you two have been with me nearly the entire time I've ever been outside the Tower. This is actually my first time on the North Road."

Alim turned away, glancing up at the cloudless sky and briefly wishing for some respite from the mid-day sun beating down on the party before refocusing his attention on the road ahead. Behind him he could hear Alistair give up on talking to Morrigan a minute later with an exasperated sigh, and knew his fellow warden had fallen back further to walk alongside Sten, the stoic and reticent Qunari warrior. Truthfully though, he didn't blame Alistair one bit. Alim wasn't really in the mood for all the banter himself, especially since the current mood of most of the group meant that _bantering_ was just as likely to be _bickering_ or _backbiting_. That was the main reason he took the initiative to take point after the last wolf pack encounter. At times it seemed like trading insults was the group's most popular pastime, and anyone was fair game.

The elven arcane warrior maintained a pace that was brisk but would not put undo strain on the big Qunari ambling along in heavy plate armor. Off to his side was his faithful Mabari warhound, Scorch, who trotted easily while wagging his stubby tail happily. A dozen meters back of him was the Antivan elven assassin, Zevran, walking with the Orlesian human bard, Leliana, and Morrigan on either side of him. Right behind Zevran was the human mage Wynne, an elderly senior enchanter who, like Alim, was from the Circle of Magi. Another dozen or so meters further back still were Sten and Alistair, the human Grey Warden that had recently been revealed to be the bastard son of Maric, former king of Ferelden.

Pulling back the hood of his dark green cloak, Alim poured a small amount of water from his skin on to his head, running his hand through his thick, slightly longer than shoulder length reddish brown mane and over his face as he tried to cool off. Pulling his hand back he noticed that he'd wiped wolf blood off his face in the process. Sighing, he poured a bit more water into his hand and wiped his face mostly clean.

"You should not waste your water like that, my friend," called out Zevran from behind him in a tone laced with mirth.

"Why is that?" Alim asked, not glancing back as he continued walking.

"'Tis a long way, Warden," Morrigan answered. "It would be a pity to see you collapse and left to the vultures because bathing with your drinking water caused you to run out."

Alim rolled his eyes, choosing not to bother replying to her. He generally liked Morrigan, in part because he felt she was forthright and honest, she was one of the few people he'd ever met that he didn't feel spoke in layers of meaning and motive. The other part was she heaped less abuse on him than she did the others and he thought maybe in her odd way that was how she expressed friendship. But he was by no means immune from it. He'd hoped being a bit away from the main group would keep him from being targeted, but as it turned out, he wasn't so lucky.

"And it's not like the blood is going to make him look any worse," added Zevran in a low voice, intending his comment for only the two women next to him to hear. Alim heard it anyway.

"Yes, 'tis truly a face only a mother could love," Morrigan sniped, chuckling.

Alim closed his eyes and sighed to himself, both from the comments being said behind his back in a way that seemed like they thought he couldn't hear them, and from the laughter that indicated the amusement the two of them were having at his expense. This wasn't the first time he'd heard that phrase from Morrigan, she'd said it in front of Flemeth and Alistair shortly after he'd gotten out of bed back at her mother's hut.

"He definitely got taken out back and beaten with the ugly stick," Zevran agreed, drawing more laughter from Morrigan and giggles from Leliana.

"That is terrible!" Leliana chided half-heartedly while still giggling.

Alim flinched at the sound of her laughter before gritting his teeth angrily. He wasn't happy with the others either, but Leliana and Alistair were the only ones of the group other than his dog that he'd have said were genuinely friends and not just acquaintances he was friendly with. So it stung even worse that she was laughing along with them.

"_I guess I was wrong about her, after all,"_ he thought solemnly to himself, picking up his pace to get out of earshot from them. After awhile he couldn't help but think back on what made him a target for those types of comments.

-==0==-

_The two youngest Grey Wardens raced across the bridge towards the Tower of Ishal, ducking arrows launched from the darkspawn forces that the king's armies were engaged with here at Ostagar. As they dashed into the courtyard in front of the tower, they suddenly came to a abrupt halt, exchanging shocked glares. This was supposed to be the boring, easy job, just make their way up to the top of the tower that was already held by Teyrn Loghain's forces, then light the beacon to signal the remainder of the army led by Loghain himself to charge. A plan that sounded so dull that Alistair had actually lamented the lack of action they'd see. But what they saw now changed everything. The broken remnants of the contingent Loghain had left behind at the tower were fleeing for their lives. A large number of darkspawn were in the courtyard, slaughtering anything in their path._

"_This is bad…" muttered Alistair somberly, barely loud enough for Alim to hear over the din of battle. Alim agreed, but the inexperienced young mage managed to keep his wits about him long enough to flag down a tower guard and a fleeing soldier._

"_You two!" he barked, "with us, now!"_

_The soldier briefly scowled, looking like he wanted to tell the elf to go take a flying leap, but he merely sighed in resignation and answered, "Yes, Warden."_

_Spotting a cluster of darkspawn that had just finished swarming a soldier, Alim cast a fireball that obliterated them, sending charred corpses flying in the process. This immediately drew the attention of the remaining darkspawn. A number of hurlocks, large burly warriors wielding war axes, charged the group, while several smaller genlock archers moved to attack range. Alistair and their two new companions stepped forward to intercept the charging hurlocks, engaging them in melee combat. Alim stayed back, briefly surveying the battlefield before beginning to launch ranged attacks from his blackened heartwood staff._

_The three upfront managed to hold their own against the hurlocks, though they weren't making much progress offensively. After a minute of ducking and dodging arrows and countering with bolts of energy, Alim cut loose another fireball that took out the group of genlocks. A couple of more hurlocks joined the fray, and recognizing the little mage was dealing the most damage they charged directly at him. Alim threw out his hands and cast a flame blast that set the pair of darkspawn on fire, but they plowed ahead into him and knocked him roughly to the ground. He managed to roll out of the way of an incoming axe blade that stuck violently in the ground at the spot he occupied a moment earlier, but a wild swing from the other hurlock slashed his arm, cutting through his robe and opening a gash._

_Alim screeched in pain, which drew Alistair's attention. The mage let loose a mind blast that stunned his two adversaries, allowing his fellow warden a free run at the now defenseless darkspawn. Alistair quickly cut them down before returning his attention to the other group. Alim flanked the enemy line long enough to cast a flame blast that ripped through their rank while avoiding his allies. The attack gave his companions the advantage they needed to overwhelm and finish off the last of the hurlocks in the courtyard. Seeing there were no more enemies in sight, Alim dropped to his knees, gasping for breath as the adrenaline left him and realization set in._

"_Are you alright?" Alistair asked in a worried tone._

_Alim nodded. "Sorry… still new at this…"_

"_Fighting darkspawn? Few have much experience at it."_

_Shaking his head, Alim answered, "Before today I'd never fought or killed anything, actually."_

"_Are you kidding me?" asked the tower guard incredulously. "You've got that kind of offensive firepower and you're telling me you've never used it before?"_

"_I guess if you want to count my Harrowing I have killed a demon before, but we do not exactly practice on live targets at the Circle Tower."_

_Alistair nodded. "Well, if you've caught your breath, we need to move on. They're counting on us to get that beacon lit."_

"_I am fine, let's go."_

-==0==-

_By the time they reached the top of the Tower of Ishal, Alim was quite literally panting for breath, with sweat pouring off of him. He'd never experienced anything like this, and he simply did not have the endurance for the kind of sustained fighting they'd been engaged in all throughout the tower. The quartet had left dozens upon dozens of dead darkspawn in their wake, but as they burst through the door to the top floor, what he saw was scarier than anything they'd fought to this point. Stalking around the far side of the room was a massive darkspawn ogre. It was easily more than twice as tall as Alim, and extremely broad and muscular. The curved horns on its head and razor sharp talons on its claws only completed the look. This was truly a beast designed with a single purpose – destruction._

_Unfortunately for Alim, he had next to nothing left in the tank. He was exhausted, he'd burned the last of his lyrium potions a couple of skirmishes back, and at this point he couldn't even summon a simple flame blast. The ogre roared ferociously and charged, causing the group to scurry like mice around it. Alistair and the tower guard attempted to flank the giant beast, and the soldier tried to stay between the ogre and Alim while at the same time not getting himself killed. Realizing they might not win the battle and even if they did it would take awhile, Alim darted over and snatched a torch off the wall, hurriedly tossing it onto the highly flammable timber that served as the beacon. The wood ignited immediately, flaring dramatically against the backdrop of the night sky._

_Alim had barely let out a relieved sigh and begun to turn his attention back to the ogre when he suddenly felt a searing pain tear through him. The ogre had taken advantage of the elven warden's distraction to swipe one of its claws violently at him, and two of its talons found their mark. One sliced off the top third of Alim's left ear before continuing on and opening a long gash from his hairline down across his cheek to his chin, while the other talon cut open an even deeper gash that started a few inches higher on his head and raked angrily across his forehead to his left eyebrow. Between the pain and the blood flowing down his face he could barely see, let alone fight, and it was only a couple of moments longer before another strike from the ogre connected flush with the side of his head and the world went dark. He'd only find out later that his three companions managed to take down the ogre by spreading out, with two attacking while the one the ogre was focused on concentrated on defense. Unfortunately, neither he nor Alistair knew what became of the other two. Alistair collapsed after the battle and assumed he was dying as he lost consciousness. He was no different than Alim in not having any further memories before awakening in Flemeth's hut._

-==0==-

Still seething at his companions for making jokes about his physical appearance and laughing about it, Alim tried to occupy his thoughts with other things to take his mind off of them – off of _her. _In his mind he began to recap the situation they were in and what they'd done up to this point.

For Alim Surana, this was all just a whirlwind that was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. He had barely finished his Harrowing at the Circle Tower and elevated from apprentice to full mage before the Grey Warden commander Duncan whisked him away from the Tower to join the Grey Wardens and the effort to defeat the Blight.

The group had so far managed to secure the support of the Dalish elves, one of the three groups the Grey Wardens had long standing treaties with. They still needed to travel to the Circle of Magi and to Orzammar to cash in their treaties with the mages and dwarves respectively. They went to Redcliffe to talk to Arl Eamon Guerrin both in regards to the situation with Teyrn Loghain branding the Grey Wardens as traitors after Ostagar and in dealing with the darkspawn threat, only to find out the arl was gravely ill after being poisoned by a blood mage. That led not only to a large battle with the undead minions of a demon that had possessed the arl's young son, Connor, but to the revelation that Alim's former best friend, Jowan, was the maleficar involved.

Back at the Circle Tower, Jowan roped him into a scheme to destroy his phylactery that nearly got Alim killed in the process. The end result was that Jowan escaped and left Alim in the bind afterwards that led directly to him being sent away to join the Grey Wardens. Alim had been so angry at discovering Jowan involved with the mess at Redcliffe that he'd told Eamon's brother, Bann Teagan Guerrin, to execute Jowan.

After traveling to the Circle of Magi tower and having to save the Circle from summoned abominations that had overrun the tower, one of Alim's old mentors, a senior enchanter named Wynne, joined the group. Alim was so exhausted after returning to Redcliffe Castle and entering the Fade to fight the desire demon holding Connor's mind that he completely forgot to ask First Enchanter Irving about the treaty afterwards. And truthfully, he had been extremely annoyed when he woke up later and found out that neither Alistair nor anyone else had thought to ask. So they still had another trip to make to the Circle Tower to ask about the treaty.

The group then tracked down the Urn of Sacred Ashes of Andraste to the remote village Haven in order to cure Arl Eamon, and after healing Eamon the party left for Denerim to wrap up some prior quests they'd started, do some shopping and have armor made from the drake scales they obtained while fighting through the dragon cult in Haven, and for Alim to help Leliana with a personal problem that she'd confided only to him.

It turned out that her ex-mentor, Marjolaine, had tracked her whereabouts from Orlais and was in Denerim. Leliana was concerned that Marjolaine planned to have her killed, and wanted to act preemptively. She worried that Alim would consider her problem a dangerous diversion and tell her no, or even worse tell her that she couldn't travel with him anymore because it, but he hadn't even blinked before agreeing to help her.

The two of them confronted Marjolaine, and after defeating her they intended to let Marjolaine go. However, Marjolaine foolishly declared that it wasn't over as she turned to scamper away, and the infuriated elven mage darkly declared that Marjolaine signed her own death warrant by continuing to threaten his friend. He shocked Leliana by casting a _crushing prison_ spell on Marjolaine and squeezing her life out right there, and then surprised her further by handing Marjolaine's exquisite recurve longbow to Leliana to have. He had no way of knowing that she herself had given that bow to her former mentor and love, at great personal expense to herself.

While camping near Denerim, Morrigan came to Alim with her own personal request. Alim had recovered Flemeth's grimoire in the Circle Tower while they were fighting the abominations and gave it to Morrigan afterwards. The witch discovered in it that Flemeth maintained her centuries long life by raising up daughters when she got old and then possessing them. And Morrigan was to be next. Alim, Wynne, Sten, and Zevran detoured by the Korcari Wilds to confront Flemeth on Morrigan's behalf, only to have Flemeth turn into a dragon and attack them. It was a brutal battle, one in which Alim nearly died before Wynne cast a _revival_ spell to save him. But they finally prevailed, and obtained Flemeth's true grimoire for Morrigan before meeting the rest of the group back in Denerim. Now they were on the North Road, making their way towards Orzammar.

-==0==-

Attempting to manage the big picture goal of raising an army to defend Ferelden against the darkspawn invasion and kill the archdemon to end the Blight amidst the current political climate was trying enough for Alim, even before adding the stress of keeping a growing group of diverse personalities and backgrounds all on the same page on a day-to-day basis. Even though Alistair had been a Grey Warden for a few months longer than Alim, and was three years older than the 20 year old elf, he constantly deferred to the younger, less experienced man to the point that Alim became the de facto leader of the ragtag group that seemed to gain more misfits at each major area they stopped in.

He wasn't exactly known as being the most social person around while growing up in the Circle Tower, where he'd lived since being taken from the alienage in Denerim when he was only three, so the constant interaction with others was stressful at times. If anything, Alim preferred solitude to the company of others simply because of growing up in an environment that was both highly competitive among his peers and under intense scrutiny by the Chantry templars that oversaw the Circle. He grew up learning to distrust the motives of others, and to take very little at face value.

-==0==-

Alim sat on a fallen tree towards the rear of the party's camp with his back to the others. It was dusk, the group had just finished setting up camp, and Alistair was beginning to prepare dinner since it was his turn to cook. Normally everyone but Morrigan would cluster their tents around a single bonfire, with Morrigan always choosing to setup her own tent and fire away from the rest of them. Tonight, however, Alim let the others establish where they were setting up their tents, and then he set his up as far away from both Morrigan's spot and the main group's spot as possible. He didn't bother with preparing a fire for himself, it would be a warm enough night that he didn't need one and the other two fires provided sufficient light in the camp. He talked to the others only long enough to establish the shifts for that night's watch, and was already losing himself in thought while staring off at the horizon and thinking about Leliana.

As antisocial as he felt at times, Alim could almost never resist the urge to talk to the bard when he had a chance to away from the others. He was more religious than most mages at the Tower, one of the few that didn't knock belief in the Maker simply out of petty spite towards the templars and the Chantry. He found Leliana's attitude towards the Maker a refreshing change from the rampant cynicism exhibited by the rest of his companions, even the Chantry raised Alistair. Of course, he wasn't going to delude himself into thinking that was his only interest in her.

He'd naturally noticed she was quite attractive back when they'd first met, though contrary to what Morrigan thought, that had no bearing on his decision to allow Leliana to join them. But it wasn't until they were in the Brecilian Forest securing the support of the Dalish elves and she'd traded in her Chantry robes for a set of Dalish leather armor that he realized just how stunning she was, as the mid cut form fitting armor that only came down to mid-thigh left a lot less to the imagination. He thought Alistair would never let him hear the end of it, loudly pointing out and teasing Alim mercilessly for openly gawking at her when she came out of her tent dressed that way for the first time. He remembered feeling horribly embarrassed at the time, though he was grateful that Leliana let him off the hook with a gentle smile after briefly giggling along with Alistair.

The elf's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone approach from behind.

"Do you wish to train this evening?" asked Leliana. She, Alistair, and Zevran took turns training Alim in the various aspects of melee combat, which he'd requested when deciding to become an arcane warrior. He'd improved rapidly under their combined tutelage, aided by being able to increasingly channel his magical energy into physical combat strength. But tonight he just wanted to be left alone.

"No, I do not," he replied tersely.

It was obvious that Alim was in a sour mood and had been for awhile, but Leliana didn't know the source of it. She sat down on the log next to him, noticing him stiffen at the closeness of her presence. "Do you wish to talk?"

"No, I do not," he echoed.

Leliana didn't make any move to leave. She remained silent for a couple of minutes and when it became apparent that Alim wasn't going to say anything else, she sighed lightly. "Please tell me what is wrong."

Alim bit his bottom lip tensely. "And why do _you_ care?"

She flinched a bit, taken aback by his reaction, but decided to press on anyway. "We are friends, no? Would you do any less for someone you cared for?"

Scoffing, Alim shook his head. "Friends?" he asked incredulously. "You and I apparently have very different definitions of the word." He stood up to go to his tent, but before he could leave she reached out with the deftness only a rogue could possess and snatched hold of his arm.

"Why are you acting this way?" she demanded firmly.

With his free hand, Alim reached up and pulled his hood down. The piercing gaze from his large emerald eyes bore holes through her sapphire blue eyes as he pointed to his disfigured ear and scathingly said, "Despite what it looks like, this freak does actually have two functioning ears to hear with. I _heard_, Leliana…I _heard_ you laughing at me with them, so don't give me that tripe about _caring_ for me." With that he yanked his arm free from the stunned bard and disappeared into his tent.

"I-I am sorry…" she whispered softly, to herself since Alim was already gone. She bowed her head sadly. Truthfully, she found herself caring even more deeply for him than she'd admitted, more than just friendship. She had adored him even before he risked himself for her in dealing with Marjolaine back in Denerim. She was enamored with his vibrant spirit, and his wide-eyed innocence had made her fall in love with the wonders of the Maker's world all over again. She felt a sense of peace in his presence that was addicting, and she'd come to believe that Alim was a gift to her from the Maker himself. Leliana waited several minutes before getting up, both to see if he'd come back out and to fully compose herself. She debated on going into his tent after him to apologize, but eventually decided she'd wait until later when he was less emotional. Sighing in resignation, she went back to the others.

-==0==-

Alim sat in his tent stewing, and even though no one else came to call on him, he refused to make an appearance for dinner because he just didn't want to deal with any of the others at the moment. He also felt he was probably too harsh on Leliana. Even if she had hurt him, he could have handled that situation better than he did. But he didn't want to see her right now, and he didn't want to see her passing the time she was _not _spending with him with Zev instead.

Alim hated to admit it, but he knew he was jealous of the attention Leliana had given Zevran since he'd joined, especially since the Antivan elf often flirted with the bard and she seemed to enjoy that tit for tat banter with him. Despite not having any experience with women, Alim recognized his own developing feelings for Leliana. He knew they were foolish, there was no conceivable way a beautiful, worldly lady with so much to offer could ever be interested in someone who had so little to offer in return. Still, it didn't stop him from wondering if her interest in Zevran went beyond friendly curiosity and a means of passing the time while traveling. Alim was envious of Zev's ability to socialize so easily, and even jealous of his looks when he was being honest with himself.

Being the only two elves in the group, Alim couldn't help but compare himself to Zevran. And he didn't like what he saw. Zev was tall as far as elven standards went, approximately 5'8" in height, making him almost the same height as the 5'9" Leliana. Alim was a much more modest 5'3". Zev also had a stronger, sturdier build than many elves. Alim had worked hard to build strength and muscle ever since he'd decided to go from being just a pure mage to an arcane warrior following their discovery of an ancient arcane warrior in some ruins in the Brecilian Forest. But even still he had the typical wiry elven body type. More than once Morrigan or Sten had rather condescendingly questioned whether or not his constitution could hold up to the rigors of their task, and he knew his lack of endurance had been a liability at times early in their adventures.

Perhaps the worst comparison though was the one that made Alim most self-conscious. By any standard, Zev was a very attractive man physically. Alim hadn't been much to look at before Ostagar, but the disfiguring he'd received in the battle at the top of the Tower of Ishal made things much worse. The remaining portion of his left ear looked more like a human ear cut flat on top rather than having the distinctive elven point his right ear still retained. And while Flemeth and Morrigan had done much to get him back on his feet after Ostagar, they couldn't do anything about the scars left behind from the ogre's attack. He'd gotten so many stares and comments from strangers and companions alike that he'd taken to wearing a hooded cloak over his armor most of the time in order to hide his appearance from casual observers. All in all, he didn't feel like he had any redeeming physical qualities, and the cruel reminders of it made him gravitate between aggravation and depression.

While churning through the thoughts about his companions angrily in his mind, and faced with the prospect of things not getting any better, he came to the realization of what he needed to do. At first he was slightly afraid, but the more he thought about it, the more his resolve took over. Finally he lay down, figuring he'd better get as much rest as possible before his watch shift, since the next day would be a long one.


	2. Chapter 2

It was about an hour after daybreak, and the group of adventurers were packing up the camp and getting ready to continue on their way. At least, most of them were. One member was conspicuously absent, not having arisen from his tent yet.

"Warden!" shouted Morrigan in irritation, "this is my last warning! Get out of bed or I am coming in there and dragging you out!" This was the third time she'd yelled for him to get up. Her last threat of leaving him behind had gone unheeded.

After several more minutes went by with no apparent activity from Alim's tent, Alistair sighed and walked over to it. He began to speak as he pushed aside the flap and poked his head in, "Alim, come on, man, we've-" He stopped in midsentence when he realized the tent was empty. "He's not here!" Alistair called out to the others, a mild tinge of worry in his tone.

"Which watch shift did he have?" asked Morrigan pointedly.

"Next to last," replied Sten. "He woke me up and I relieved him."

"Did you see him go back to his tent?"

"No," answered Sten, shaking his head slowly, "After putting on my armor and arising from my tent, he was not in sight. I merely assumed he returned to his tent after waking me."

Alistair ran his hand through his hair. "You hear any signs of struggle? See anything on your watch that indicated anyone or anything else was around here?"

"No," Sten answered firmly.

"Where would he have gone off to then?" asked Zevran. "It is unlike him to disappear without telling anyone."

"Oh, no…" lamented Leliana. She'd looked inside his tent while the others were talking, and found a note. As the others gathered around her, she began to read.

_I've taken the treaty between the Grey Wardens and the Circle of Magi with me, and will proceed to the Circle Tower on my own to secure their support while the rest of you continue on to Orzammar to speak with the dwarves. Other than a few poultices, lyrium potions, ten sovereigns, and my equipment, I've left everything with you. Do what you will with it, I'll restock along my way. I'll send word to Redcliffe when I am done in Calenhad, so check with Arl Eamon when you are done in Orzammar. Good luck on your journeys, perhaps our paths will cross again one day when the archdemon is on the move._

_- Alim Surana_

-==0==-

"Just what in Andraste's name is he thinking?" asked Alistair incredulously.

"'Tis not obvious?" answered Morrigan scornfully. "He is an even bigger fool than you, 'twould seem." Scorch whined pitifully in response.

Sten shook his head. "I do not know what he hopes to accomplish by going off alone and getting himself killed. Foolish little elf."

"Foolish child, indeed," Wynne agreed solemnly. "Being a Grey Warden alone will not keep him from the dangers of the open road."

Leliana threw up her hands in exasperation. "This! This is what he hopes to accomplish! To get away from all of us!"

"But, why?" asked Alistair.

"Can you not see?" replied Leliana, still ranting. "We have wounded him more than any darkspawn, we who would claim to be his friends but insult and make fun of him!"

Morrigan scoffed. "The boy needs to grow a thicker skin if mere words wound him so gravely."

Leliana bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at the raven haired witch. "I am going after him," she said resolutely.

"He has a several hour head start, but he can be caught from behind. I will go with you," said Zevran. Seeing Leliana's glare, he softly added, "It is the least I can do, he has been much better to me than I have to him. Can you keep up?"

"These legs are not just for show," she sneered. "I can run for as long as it takes."

"I suppose he _is_ needed, since we cannot count on this one alone to end the Blight," said Morrigan cynically, gesturing at Alistair.

This time Leliana did get in Morrigan's face. "And that is how you would repay the man who has done so much for you, for all of us? He gives of himself time and time again, and asks little in return, no? And yet we make him feel as if he is a burden to us, that his battle scars make him a freak to be shunned!"

"Calm down, child," Wynne scolded, "anger serves no one right now."

"My, my, aren't we a little defensive?" Morrigan asked Leliana in amusement. "Well no matter, I am in agreement with you that we shall go after him."

"How are we to do this?" Sten inquired.

Alistair cleared his throat. "Sten and I will slow the group down. Leliana and Zevran, take the hound and the three of you go on ahead. You'll be able to travel light and fast, and will have the best chance of catching up to Alim before he runs into something he can't handle. Sten, Morrigan, Wynne, and I will trail you at our more standard pace. We know he is going to the Circle Tower, so we'll meet you there if you don't see him before then. If you do find him before then, make camp and wait for us to arrive."

"Finally, a sensible plan," agreed Morrigan. Everyone nodded, then proceeded to finish packing up and heading out.

-==0==-

It was shortly before daybreak the next day when the trio of Leliana, Zevran, and Scorch came over a hill to find the remnants of a battle. Multiple fires were still burning, and the putrid smell of charred flesh filled the air.

"Darkspawn…" said Zevran, stating the obvious. At quick glance there appeared to be at least a couple of dozen bodies, but with visibility low because of it still being dark, there could easily be more.

Leliana felt a tiny bit of panic well up inside her. "_Find_ him," she half commanded half pleaded to the Mabari at her side. Scorch barked and raced off to the field, with the two rogues trailing cautiously behind while on the lookout both for their friend and for any surviving enemies.

-==0==-

Twenty minutes later, the three companions met back on the road. Scorch whined low, he hadn't been able to find Alim.

"He is not here. That is a good thing, yes?" remarked Leliana, trying to reassure herself as much as anything.

"He _was_ here," Zevran replied, "this battlefield has his handiwork written all over it."

Leliana nodded solemnly. From the obvious heavy use of fire to the chunks of bodies that appeared to have exploded, it was signature Alim Surana. "Did you find anything other than darkspawn?"

Zev shook his head. "No, though many of the dead are in so many burnt parts scattered about that it's hard to tell what they were."

Scorch barked at the two rogues. "Yes, you are right," Leliana agreed. "This would have slowed him down… he cannot be too far ahead of us now."

-==0==-

Alim quickly wiped the sweat from his brow while assessing the situation. _"Six wolves down, two to go…"_ he thought. The smoldering corpses of the ones hit by his earlier fireball made him grin in smug satisfaction. He spun his longsword, _Spellweaver,_around in his hand before lashing out at one of the two remaining foes. His effort was rewarded with a howl of the wolf that his blade connected with. Alim's undead companion began to pummel the wounded wolf with its maul, attempting to keep the large canine from getting to its new master. The other wolf pounced, latching its jaws on to the thigh of the young elf, clamping down in an attempt to crush the bone. Alim screamed, and began bashing the wolf repeatedly on the head trying to get it to let go. When that proved futile, he finally resorted to gouging its eyes, which finally made the wolf release its hold on his leg.

Weakened from the attack, he wasn't able to stop the wolf from knocking him over when it retaliated by leaping up and hitting him in the chest with its body. Feeling his strength slipping and not having any mana left to cast a spell, Alim jammed his gloved fist into the wolf's mouth, wincing from the pain of its sharp teeth piercing the drakeskin glove and biting into his flesh. He was fighting a losing battle not to be overwhelmed by the wolf's vicious attack until he suddenly felt the weight of the beast leave him. He looked up to see the undead warrior standing over him. The former darkspawn hurlock alpha emotionlessly stepped over Alim and stalked forward to the last remaining wolf, which was writhing on the ground from having its ribs caved in. The undead swung its maul one more time, crushing the wolf's skull. With the threat gone, it stood dispassionately with its weapon at its side, awaiting further orders from its master.

"Thanks, Meat," said Alim, chuckling painfully. "I guess I owe you one." He moved to sit up, and groaned at the acute pain in his thigh. "Ugh, I am going to feel that one for awhile… Good thing I brought all those extra poultices and lyrium potions, right?" he sarcastically asked to no one in particular, since it was not like his undead companion was capable of responding. "Ahh, yes, that is right," he continued as if he'd gotten a response, "brilliant me only brought a few of each and have already run out."

Alim dragged himself to his feet, and was glad that he could at least put pressure on his right leg. That meant he could walk, albeit slower than usual. He used his sword to cut a strip of cloth off the bottom of his cloak, which he fastened around his thigh as a makeshift bandage. He wasn't happy about having to mangle his cloak, but it was better than bleeding out from the bite wound. "Come on, Meat, hopefully we will not run into anything else before we can find a place to get supplies." He began limping west, continuing his journey down the North Road towards Lake Calenhad.

-==0==-

It was close to mid-day and the sun was high in the sky when Leliana, Zevran, and Scorch jogged up on the remains of eight wolves on the road, half of them charred to a crisp.

"These kills are fresh," Leliana noted after looking over the corpses, "I would give it no more than an hour."

"Look at this, my flower," replied Zev, kneeling over one of the dead wolves. Leliana walked over to see what he was talking about.

Pointing at the body, Zev remarked, "This one was killed neither by magic nor by blade."

"Do you think someone travels with him now?"

Zev shrugged. "I would venture to say he didn't fight this battle alone, but beyond that I don't know."

Scorch audibly sniffed around before beginning to bark rapidly.

"What is it, boy?" asked Leliana. Her eyes grew wider at the Mabari's insistent barking. "You say that is _his_ blood on the ground?"

"He can't be far now if he is wounded," offered Zev, wincing slightly at the glare he received from Leliana for suggesting Alim was still hurt. He did not bother to point out in his defense that there were no empty poultice flasks on the ground around here, figuring to do so would invite more than just a glare. It had become obvious to him from her body language and statements throughout the last day and a half that tracking down Alim was more _personal_ to her, and while he could guess at why that was, it wasn't his place to say anything. Especially not when he was a contributing factor to why they were in this situation to begin with. So he said nothing and resumed jogging.

-==0==-

By the middle of the afternoon they could see the faint outline of a pair of travelers on the horizon. Scorch barked excitedly and broke into a dead sprint.

"That must be him!" Leliana exclaimed, willing her own exhausted legs to move faster. They'd kept a brutal pace, barely stopping for any rest along the way. Zev grunted slightly, his muscles equally burning at this point, but he pressed himself onward.

-==0==-

Alim turned at the sound of something approaching fast from behind just in time to be bowled over by his faithful warhound. He'd have laughed if he wasn't in so much pain already. Instead he was more worried about being suffocated under the heavy Mabari and that his undead friend would mistake Scorch for an enemy and attack him.

"He is a friend!" Alim shouted while trying to avoid the slobbering tongue licking his face, "Do not attack! Scorch, let me up already!"

His hound had no intention of letting him up, however, and barked at Alim that he was staying put. Since Scorch weighed more than his master and was much stronger physically, Alim didn't have much say in the matter. 'Meat' continued to stand impassively at his side.

A couple of minutes later, Leliana arrived, with Zevran hot on her heels. They both glanced uneasily at the huge undead darkspawn warrior standing over Alim with a large maul in its clawed hand, but they realized it was making no move to attack and assumed it must be a thrall under Alim's control.

"Alim!" exclaimed Leliana. Scorch finally got off of the elven mage so he could get back up. Alim groaned painfully, clutching his stomach and thigh as he attempted to sit up. He only made it partially up before flopping back down. He didn't say anything at first, not really sure what to say since the thought of seeing his companions again so soon hadn't even crossed his mind.

Zev handed Leliana a flask of greater health poultice and gestured silently in the direction of Alim. She nodded at him, and Zev could see the grateful expression she wore even if she didn't say anything. She knelt down and lifted Alim's head off the ground, propping him against her while helping him down the poultice.

"Thank you…" he whispered softly a few moments after finishing the poultice, feeling the recuperative effects. Leliana quietly began undoing the blood soaked wrap around his thigh to inspect the wound.

"Hello, I am Zevran. Zev to my friends," said Zevran to the undead warrior, looking at it curiously. The former darkspawn continued to stare without focus, as if it were not completely aware.

Alim chuckled slightly. "Meat is kind of the strong silent type, if you have not noticed."

"Meat?" asked Leliana in confusion.

"Yes, my new friend here. He does not talk much, well, at all really, but I affectionately named him 'Meat Shield'. I just call him 'Meat' for short."

Despite the many thoughts coursing through her mind, Leliana couldn't help but giggle slightly at his sense of humor.

Zevran shook his head. "I suppose that is a joke only a mage can appreciate, it hits a little too close to home for me, my friend." He did grin after saying that though.

After an awkward silence set in, Alim cleared his throat. "So…" he began, not really sure how to continue.

"Do not start, Alim," Leliana warned gently. "Of course we were going to come after you, despite what you intended for us to do."

Alim looked at her with an expression mixed with embarrassment and puzzlement. "Why?"

"If I was not so relieved you are alright I would smack you for this," she replied before adding, "I am sorry for hurting you, Alim. I _am _your friend, even if I did momentarily forget what that means."

Zevran offered his hand to Alim, which he took and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "As am I," Zevran began. "Forgive me for my behavior before. I owe you better than that."

Alim nodded uncomfortably, not really knowing what to say. "It is done…" he offered quietly, trailing off.

Leliana pointed to an area off the road. "It is early yet, but we will make camp over there. I suspect it will be at least mid-day tomorrow before the others catch up to us."

"You are really not letting me continue on my own then?" Alim asked shyly.

Leliana grasped the front of his armor and roughly pulled him towards her. The human bard was a full head taller than the elf, and the position forced Alim to crane his neck upwards to meet her stern gaze. "We did _not_ run for the better part of two days just to allow you to walk away again. You understand this, yes?"

Alim gulped, nodding tentatively.

Continuing, Leliana said, "If you do this again, you will have more than just darkspawn to contend with. Are we clear?"

Alim's eyes widened in shock, but he quickly stuttered out "Y-y-yes." He snapped his eyes close to avoid her point blank stare, so he didn't see her expression soften in relief.

"I am happy that you are safe," she whispered gently, leaning in and kissing him lightly on the cheek, intentionally doing so on his scar. His eyes re-opened even wider than before, but before he could say anything she had already let him go and turned away.

"Let's get the camp ready," she ordered, beginning to walk towards the clearing on the side of the road.

Alim sighed. "Well, Meat, you have been a great help. But I guess it is time for us to say our goodbyes." With that he closed his eyes and let go off his command over the darkspawn, deactivating his _animate dead_ spell. The undead moaned briefly as the lifeforce sustaining it left, and collapsed on the road before gradually dematerializing into the Fade.

-==0==-

Though he rather quickly fell back into a comfortable atmosphere with Scorch, Leliana, and Zev, the elven warden had a sense of dread anticipating the arrival of the others. After the initial scolding, Leliana had been content to drop the subject, while Zev just acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But Alim knew it wasn't going to be pleasant when the others arrived. Sten had already made it clear that he had little use for the little warden, despite Alim being the one who got him freed in Lothering. And Morrigan would no doubt have scathing words for him. Wynne would scold him for being irresponsible, but she'd probably drop it once she made her point. Alistair was a wildcard, he felt. He'd either be furious with him or he'd try to play it off with humor, and after a couple of days on the road tracking him down, Alim guessed he would most likely be angry. Especially since with sending Leliana and Zev on ahead, Alistair and Sten would've ended up carrying three extra tents plus the additional equipment and supplies between the two of them. Alim knew he wouldn't have much longer before he found out though. It was mid-day the following day, and based on when they left and how fast they'd likely travel, they were due to arrive about anytime now.

He was also a bit confused over Leliana's reaction the previous day, specifically the kiss. With nothing to do but wait, he sat under a tree and contemplated what it meant. Could it have meant anything? He didn't see how it could. He wanted to ask her about it, but was afraid to. He'd hoped she would say something afterwards that would give him some clue, but she didn't. The conversation the previous evening had been light since everyone was exhausted, and the four of them slept out under the stars with no privacy. He'd taken both first and last watch, and let them sleep as late as they wanted. Zev was resting under another tree further away, sharpening his daggers, while Leliana had gone back for a nap while they waited. Scorch lay near her, happily snoozing as well. Alim leaned his head back and closed his eyes, drowsily lost in thought until a sarcasm-laced voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Well, well, 'tis our wayward warden!" Morrigan called out.

Alim blushed shamefully, but stood up and brushed himself off and went out to meet them, immediately offering to take some of the load they were carrying. He helped them into the camp, where they dropped their stuff and sat down. Alim made himself busy by unpacking the tents and beginning to set them up by himself.

"Sit down, Alim," sighed Alistair, "there's no need for you to do that for us."

"And why not?" Morrigan asked. "'Tis obvious he feels guilty, we might as well take advantage of it while it lasts."

"I… I am sorry, guys," Alim admitted. "I made a rash decision in anger, out of foolish pride. I have already sworn that it will not happen again." He glanced briefly at Leliana, who smiled slightly as she nodded in response.

"That aside, Warden," replied Morrigan, "what I wish to know is how you managed to defeat three dozen darkspawn alone? 'Twas most impressive really."

Alim chuckled softly. "Well, I caught them off guard, sensing them long before they sensed me. They were traveling in a fairly tight pack, which was rather stupid really. I flanked their lines and dropped an _inferno_ spell right on top of them, then quickly hit a couple of the weaker looking ones, genlock archers I think, with _walking bomb _and _virulent walking bomb_ spells. About that time they started to figure out where the spells were coming from and began charging my position. I threw a fireball that blasted them back and in the process detonated the two infected genlocks, causing them to explode and wipe out a bunch of their buddies. I think some of the others that were not killed got infected themselves from the _virulent _version of the spell, because as the battle wore on I saw bodies exploding a couple of times. Anyway, while the other darkspawn were scrambling I targeted the charging hurlock alpha with an _arcane bolt_, sucked down a lyrium potion, and kept pounding the alpha at range with my staff until he got close enough to hit with a _flame blast_. I guess he must have been in pretty bad shape from the other stuff, because that dropped him, which surprised me. A bunch of others were almost on top of me at that point, so I cast a _mind blast _that stunned the lot of them, and then used _animate dead_ to raise the alpha.

"Meat…" added Zev, ginning.

Alim grinned as well. "Yes, Meat Shield. Anyway, after draining another lyrium potion I brought an _inferno_ down on top of myself, then cast a _force field_ on myself and just stood there while fire rained down on the all of the darkspawn trying to get to me. At least one of the _virulent walking bomb_ infected darkspawn exploded, taking out a bunch of them. My undead friend pounded on quite a few of them with its heavy maul as well. When the _force field_ dropped it was kind of rinse and repeat what I had been doing. I was taking damage at that point and had to stop a couple of times to suck down poultices and my last lyrium portion, but Meat and I managed to wipe out the rest of their party."

Alistair whistled appreciatively. "Some impressive destruction."

The little mage grinned. He thought to himself that in some ways the battle had been easier because he could just unload spells indiscriminately without having to worry about friendly fire, but given the current circumstances he knew better than to vocalize that tidbit of information. "Well, I cannot take all of the credit. Meat definitely took care of me. Truthfully, I would be dead right now without him. I ran into another pack of wolves yesterday and that was a closer call than the darkspawn because even more foolishly I did not take enough poultices or lyrium potions with me. A wolf took a chunk out of my thigh and was about to take more than that to eat when Meat crushed the beast's skull."

"So where is your wonderful little undead friend?" Morrigan asked sarcastically.

The elven warden exhaled slowly. "I sustained that _animate dead_ spell for about twelve hours. Honestly, I did not know how much longer I would be able to keep it going, by the end I had no mana left for anything else and no lyrium potions. Fortunately, I did not have to find out. Once these guys tracked me down I let the spell go, and Meat departed for the Fade."

"Good to know 'tis not only us you cut loose so casually, Warden," replied Morrigan pointedly.

Alim winced, but didn't try to defend himself. He fell silent, staring at the ground in front of him.

"Time to let it go, Morrigan," said Leliana calmly. "It is done."

"It is done," Sten echoed in agreement, standing up and beginning to work setting up his own tent. He didn't say anything further, but his respect for the little warden had grown. He would not have believed the elven mage had handled so many darkspawn alone if he had not seen the evidence of it himself.

"Take advantage of the longer rest, gang," Alistair suggested. "We'll leave after daybreak tomorrow."

As the group dispersed, Morrigan walked up to Alim. Placing her right hand on his right shoulder, she softly said, "Good to see you safe, Warden. I daresay you had all of us worried."

"I-I really _am_ sorry…"

""Tis done, as was said."

Alim nodded, smiling gently. He knew that in her own way, Morrigan was apologizing. "Thank you…"

-==0==-

The rest of the day had been quiet, with everyone mostly keeping to themselves. It was now after dark, and with dinner over with, people began retiring to their tents. Alim was sitting up in his, with his back to the door. He had finished stripping down out of the drakeskin armor set he'd gotten from Wade's Emporium in Denerim, and wearing only the pair of tight fitting shorts he wore under his armor he was enjoying the cooler evening air on his bare skin when he suddenly saw a shadow flash by and then felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Alim?" Leliana said gently, having slipped into his tent. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

Alim visibly tensed up at her presence, particularly in his current state of undress. "Ummm… I… s-sure," he replied tentatively before moving to turn around and to make room for her to sit, which she did.

Leliana grinned, trailing her hand down from his shoulder and squeezing his bicep. "All of your training is paying off, no? You've gotten much more muscular in the last few months."

Alim blushed slightly from the comment and from Leliana's physical contact. "Thank you," he said softly, smiling.

She could tell he was nervous, which bothered her because she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable around her. "Are you okay? You've been rather quiet yesterday and today."

He frowned. "I am fine. I suppose I have been low key because I assume most are still upset with me, even if they are not saying anything."

Leliana shook her head. "I cannot speak for everyone else, but I said my piece and then was over it. You know this, yes?"

"I… I guess so…"

When he didn't say anything else after a few moments, she reached over and placed her hand on his bare thigh, causing him to jump slightly in surprise, then blush in embarrassment.

"I-I am s-sorry," he stammered, "y-you surprised me is all."

"Alim, may I ask you a question?"

"Of c-course…"

Leliana sighed. "You are intimidated by me, yes?"

Alim's eyes opened wide in shock. "Wh-what? I am n-not intimidated by you!"

"Then... what is it?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I have seen how you look at me, and I hear it in your voice and the way you speak to me as compared to the others. I feel reasonably certain saying I know you like me, yet you refuse to act on it, and whenever I try to encourage you by being a little more forward, you become very nervous or even push me away. Why?"

It was Alim's turn to sigh. He didn't reply for a minute, and felt her hand back on his leg. He shook his head and in a small voice admitted, "Because you intimidate me…"

"What have I done to make you feel that way?"

"Leliana…" he began, taking in and releasing a deep breath, "look at me and then look at you. What have I possibly got to offer an incredible woman like you? You are so beautiful, I am so…_not_. You are worldly and intelligent and funny, and I've spent nearly my whole life cooped up in the Circle Tower and do not know hardly anything about the world outside it. And I cannot carry on an intelligent conversation about half of the things I hear you talking about with Zev or Alistair. And both of them are obviously much better looking than me on top of that. Why would I even kid myself that there could be something between us, let alone put myself in a position to get shot down by you and make things even more awkward for myself around here?"

"Alim," replied Leliana in a patient tone, "we all carry our share of scars... some visible, some not so much." She reached up and touched his face, gently tracing her fingertips down the long scar across his cheek. He closed his eyes at the contact but didn't pull away. She continued, "You know I was tortured when Marjolaine sold me out. I bear my own scars, physical and emotional, and that they are on my back covered by clothing or inside doesn't make them any less real." She sighed lightly. "Other than being a poor friend to you the other day, have I said or done anything to make you think I was bothered by you in any way? To make you feel self-conscious about your appearance or knowledge?"

"Well… I… well…" he started, before sighing and stopping.

Several seconds of silence passed between them. Leliana could tell he wanted to say something, but something was holding him back.

"Tell me…" she prodded gently in a whisper.

"I… I cannot…"

"Why?"

"It is stupid…"

"Try me… I will not toy with your heart, Alim."

Alim sighed again, closing his eyes. He didn't want to talk about this. Even though he believed the bard, that she wouldn't ridicule him, he still didn't feel like he was going to accomplish anything other than embarrassing himself and feeling even more stupid. But he knew her well enough to know she wasn't going to let the subject drop until he answered her question. She might not press him further on it tonight if he said he didn't want to talk about it, but it would come up again. Deciding to just get it over with, he finally replied, "It is more than just my _souvenirs _from Ostagar, though truthfully I do not understand how you say you overlook that. I..." he frowned, pausing while trying to figure out how he was going to explain himself. "Even if I felt that was not an issue, that is not all of it."

Leliana nodded, patiently waiting for him to continue.

"You have told me about your past, of the lifestyle you used to lead in Orlais as a bard. I fear… I-I fear that I would… _disappoint_ you."

"Disappoint me? In what way?"

"Do I really have to say it?" he asked in exasperation.

"Forgive me… I simply do not understand what you mean."

Alim sighed again. "I have no... ummm... experience... you know, with women. I would not expect you to be satisfied with someone who has no idea what they are doing. And... th-there is..." he trailed off, pausing again.

Leliana resisted the urge to shake her head, not wanting to give any negative reaction right now. But she _was _disappointed that he thought she would hold a lack of experience against him. Instead, she gently prodded, "There is what?"

"I am an elf…"

"And?"

"Besides the fact few humans think elves are suitable mates anyway..." He sighed deeply. "Most elves are not the same size as humans..."

Leliana raised an eyebrow quizzically. "I am not bothered that you are an elf. And it does not take a crier shouting on the street to see I am taller than you, no? That bothers you?"

"Are you _sure_ you are not just tormenting me now?" he asked.

She did shake her head at him this time, but in bewilderment.

"Fine…" he grumbled, "On top of everything else, I am afraid that I compare rather poorly to the partners you are used to… with my rather… uhhh… _diminutive_ features. Satisfied now?"

Leliana's eyes opened wide as she finally caught on. She burst out laughing, causing Alim to blush furiously. He wanted a hole in the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"Oh, Alim… no…" she said quickly, shaking her head while still giggling. "I have been with an elf before," she admitted, "I know what to expect, and it is of no concern at all. That is not what matters to me."

He didn't say anything in response, still quite embarrassed, so she continued. "Hey…" she said softly, "I swear by the Maker, you are beautiful to me for the person you are, not for what you look like or do not look like on the outside. No one has ever done so much for me or given so much of themselves to me as you have, not even Marjolaine. And I see your heart in a way I never could hers. I see the sincerity in your actions, and when I am with you I feel at peace, like I am right where I am supposed to be. I was so scared when we found you had left, that something bad would happen to you and I would lose that. I thank the Maker every day for putting you in my life, Alim. And I am here for you, if you will just allow me to be."

Alim gulped, and though he tried to maintain a strong front, he felt the tears forming in his eyes. "I… I w-would like that," he replied quietly, his wavering voice barely above a whisper. "I fell in l-love with you… but thought it was nothing but a fool's dream. I did not think for even a single moment you could ever feel that way about _me_. I dared not even hope."

She took the initiative to move closer and pull him into an embrace. She didn't mind taking the lead for now, knowing that as he gained confidence in himself and his place in her heart that he'd become more assertive. She'd seen enough of his natural leadership ability to know that. He groaned softly in the back of this throat as her lips found his. They continued for awhile like this, and as much as she wanted to, she didn't push things further. She didn't think he would object, but she wanted the time to be right and didn't want to rush it. So she contented herself with the comfort of his embrace and the sweetness of his kisses.

Alim was as content as he'd ever been in his life, though if he were asked he'd have to admit that his emotional state was more akin to heart-bursting joy than peaceful contentment at the moment. It was still almost unbelievable to him that he wasn't just dreaming. After awhile, they just held each other and talked quietly.

"Will you stay the night with me?" he asked, gently stroking her hair.

Leliana was pleased that his tone lacked the tentativeness it had earlier. She took that to mean he was confident enough that she could have a little fun with him. "Oh? And what would you do with me here?" she asked with a teasing gleam in her eyes.

Alim laughed, blushing slightly. "Well, even though I _want_ to get to that part, for tonight I'd just like to hold you and sleep to be honest. Perhaps this night will be even more perfect and you being here will keep the darkspawn out of my dreams," he added.

She looked at him quizzically. "How often do you dream of darkspawn?"

Sighing, he answered, "Truthfully, almost every night since my Joining. I do not sleep well anymore."

"What do they do to Grey Warden initiates that causes that to happen?"

Alim shook his head sadly. "That is a Grey Warden secret I cannot reveal, unfortunately. Just know that the same thing that enables us to sense darkspawn in our waking hours also causes us to see them in our sleep."

She nodded sympathetically before smiling. "Of course I will stay. That is what you do for someone you care about, yes?"

"Thank you…" he whispered before kissing her again and then pulling her head down to rest on his chest while his chin lay gently on top of her head. "I love you…" he whispered before closing his eyes and letting sleep take hold of him.

"I love you too…" she whispered back, "sleep well…"


	3. Chapter 3

"You are dead," she said, her voice light with amusement.

"Again…" he added, chuckling at the younger man on the ground in front of him.

Alim sat up, rubbing his aching shoulder. "You two are having far too much fun with this," he grumbled, unintentionally drawing laughter from his _adversaries_.

Alistair reached out his hand, still laughing lightly as he offered to help Alim up. "Sorry about the shield bash," he said, "I got a little carried away."

Smirking, Alim waved the dulled grey iron longsword he was sparring with, smacking Alistair's hand away with the flat side of the blade. He dragged himself wearily to his feet, shaking his head. "So who is ahead?" he asked sarcastically.

Zevran, who was overseeing and teaching this particular training session, chuckled. "Leliana has killed you five times now, while Alistair has only killed you four times. And you, my friend, have not gotten either of them even once." Leliana twirled her pair of dulled grey iron training daggers before playfully pirouetting in glee.

"It is hardly a fair fight, Zev," Alim protested, waving his arms in frustration. "I could not defeat either one of them alone, and you are having me fight both of them at once!"

Zev rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Remember, it was _you_ that asked to be taught how to handle multiple opponents in melee. Focus now, you are allowing yourself to get frustrated and you are not learning anything. You keep making the same mistakes over and over."

"You mean there is a lesson in this for me other than learning even more humility?"

Zev sighed. "Think, my friend. You said it yourself, you cannot win fighting them both at the same time. What does that tell you?"

Alim stared at Zev in bewilderment. "That this is completely pointless?"

"No… try again." Alistair and Leliana grinned in amusement.

Alim closed his eyes and shook his head. "Okay," he said, sighing heavily, "I cannot win fighting them both at the same time, and there is supposed to be a lesson in that." Opening his eyes, he caught sight of a very disinterested Sten standing a short distance from the group. "Hey, Sten! What do _you_ think the lesson I am supposed to learn is?"

"That you should be a mage and not a warrior," the big Qunari said matter-of-factly.

"Ouch… that is harsh…"

Sten scoffed. "I simply do not understand the people in this land. Everyone wants to be something they are not. You are a mage, why do you try to be something else?"

"Sten, remember what I said when I gave you that sylvanwood crossbow?" Alim asked rhetorically, knowing he did, "I told you that even though it was not your strength, having a ranged option gives us tactical flexibility to exploit over our enemies. This is no different. I am not trying to give up being a mage, I am trying to be versatile, to be able to adapt to changing battle conditions. I would even learn from you if you would take the time."

Sten stepped forward, yanking the silverite greatsword _Yusaris_ off of his back and slamming it into the ground in front of Alim. Even staked a few inches into the earth, the massive greatsword stood taller than the elven arcane warrior. "Pasharra! When you can wield my blade you can ask me to teach you." He turned his back and began to walk off. The others glanced at Alim to see how he would react.

Alim kicked the greatsword over to dislodge it from the ground, and then in a continuous motion he picked the sword up and swung it over his head with both arms before settling into a fighting stance. "Your move!" he barked out to the Qunari, all the while trying not to grunt from the exertion of holding the huge blade out in front of him.

Sten turned around, seeing the ridiculous looking young elf attempting to wield a greatsword that was taller than he was and that he could barely hold. He looked like a young child playing with his father's sword. Stalking forward, Sten reached out and pressed down on the tip of the blade. Alim strained even further trying to resist the downward pull of the blade, struggling to keep it upright out in front of him. A wry smile formed on Sten's face at the little warden's determination. Still, he pressed a little harder, and it was only a few seconds before Alim's muscles gave out and the sword dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Do not fight them both at the same time," Sten said simply, taking his sword from Alim and walking away.

Alim was so exasperated that the approval he'd just won from the big Qunari went completely unnoticed. "So if I am in a real battle against two opponents I am supposed to just fight them one at a time?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," Sten answered. Zevran, Leliana, and Alistair all nodded in agreement.

"That is the lesson, my friend. Are you ready to try it now?" asked Zev.

Flabbergasted, Alim threw his arms up in the air and began ranting. "How is _that_ supposed to work? Oh, excuse me Mr. Darkspawn, I am sorry but I am already occupied at the moment. Please take a number and queue up and I will be with you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

Zevran grinned, trying not to laugh. "Perhaps this is a lesson better demonstrated than explained with words? Leliana, would you like to show how someone who relies on dexterity over strength fights when faced with multiple opponents?"

Leliana shifted slightly, putting her hand on her hip. "_Indeed_," she replied with a smirk.

-==0==-

Alistair and Alim charged Leliana, who waited until the last moment before spinning away towards the outside of Alim. She lashed out with the dagger in her left hand, hitting him but not drawing blood because the blade had been intentionally made dull for training purposes. Alim turned to face Leliana, and in doing so inadvertently blocked Alistair from reaching her as a result. The elf retaliated with a slash from his longsword that she deflected away using both of her daggers, and seeing Alistair coming around Alim's left side, she shuffled lightly on her feet towards Alim's right side. As Alim turned to face her, he once more effectively blocked Alistair without realizing it.

After a few more attempts to engage the rogue but being stuck behind his partner, Alistair pushed his fellow warden aside with his shield in order to get to her. Alistair knew full well what was going on, but he was still trying to do his part. He blocked a dagger stab with his shield and swung his own grey iron training longsword at the rogue. She sidestepped the slower moving templar, only to grimace when a slash from Alim caught her in the back, hurting her more from the force of impact than anything else. She quickly reached out and grabbed physically slight elf and roughly pushed him into Alistair, cutting off the templar's path to her again. With Alim off-balance from the shove, she unleashed a flurry of stabs that ricocheted off of his chest without penetrating his armor, and then executed a dual-weapon sweep that would've slashed his throat if she was fighting for real.

"Break!" called out Zevran.

"You are dead, my love, again," Leliana said, smiling sweetly at Alim, who scowled playfully in response while Alistair and Zev laughed.

"You know, you could have helped me out a bit, Alistair, I felt like I was fighting her by myself!" Right after he said that, Alim's eyes opened wide as realization set in. "Ohhhh…." he said, grinning, "I get it."

"About time, my friend," replied Zev, "I was beginning to wonder if you were a lost cause."

"See, Alim," began Leliana, "by keeping you between myself and Alistair at almost all times, I took him out of the fight. I would never have been able to go toe-to-toe with both of you and survive, so I fought you one at a time even though there were two of you."

"Generally you try to keep the stronger opponent away and fight the weaker one, but it does not always work out that way," added Zev.

Alim nodded in understanding. "Maybe someday I will not always be the weaker one," he sighed.

"More practice!" Zev replied, chuckling. "But not tonight, I think. We have all had enough."

Leliana smiled gently. "Do not see yourself as weak, you have strengths that none of us have. Sten did have a point, bluntly stated as it was. Your magic more than makes up for your inexperience in physical combat. Not using magic in these sparring sessions puts you at a great disadvantage, and you should be proud of the improvement you have made."

"Maybe… but it would still be nice not lose _every_ time to you guys."

"Winning and losing is not the point of what we are doing here. You understand that, yes?"

"Alim," Alistair began, "Be patient and continue to work hard and you'll see the results. It is unreasonable to expect after only a few months to be able to best skilled fighters with many years of training and experience."

"I… I know…" replied Alim, sighing. "You are right, of course. But it does not mean I have to just accept being a loser."

Leliana's expression turned to one of annoyance. "I am going to go get cleaned up," she said flatly, turning and beginning to walk away.

Alim noticed her change in tone immediately, as did Zev and Alistair. "What is wrong?" he asked in bewilderment.

She glanced back, glaring at the mage as she spoke. "I will _not_ stand here listening to you insult yourself and the rest of us!" she declared, storming off in a huff before he could respond.

Alim glanced wearily back and forth at Alistair and Zev. "I am confused," he admitted. "How did I insult you guys?"

"I don't even pretend to understand women," joked Alistair.

Zev flashed a coy smile. "My friend, I suspect she means that by degrading yourself, you in turn call into question the intelligence of those who would willingly follow you."

"Surely she knows I did not mean it like that?"

Alistair shrugged. "I don't even pretend to understand women," he echoed.

-==0==-

Alistair pulled Alim aside after Zev had left to return to his tent. "Tomorrow we will reach the split, where we'll either go south to the Circle Tower or northeast to the Frostback Mountains and then into Orzammar. I know originally we planned on Orzammar, but after… well, you know… I didn't know if that was still the plan."

"I think we should go to the Circle of Magi first. It is closer, and should not take long. I mean, I cannot imagine there will be any resistance to helping us since we saved the Circle from the Rite of Annulment. Also, I hear the Frostbacks are a tough climb, so before tackling the mountains I think it would be good for everyone to get a couple of nights with a roof over our heads, where we can rest comfortably without having to keep watch."

Alistair nodded. "Sounds like a wise choice to me. Hey, by the way," he added, changing the subject, "How are you holding up? Is everything well?"

It had been a week since Alim's _runaway_ attempt. The previous several days of travel had been uneventful, and Alistair felt like enough time had passed now to talk to Alim about it without emotions on either side getting in the way.

"Yes, I am over my rebellious phase," Alim replied, grinning.

Alistair nodded, smiling gently. "That's good. Our lives will be short enough, we don't need to be going out of our way to lose them."

Alim raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You do not think we will survive the Blight?"

"Well, that's debatable, but I was actually referring to the Calling."

"The Calling? What is that?"

A pained expression came over Alistair's face. "Did Duncan not tell you?" he asked quietly.

Alim shook his head, already beginning to fear where this conversation was going.

Alistair sighed heavily. "I suppose everything happened so fast, there was no time. And then he… was gone… along with the others."

"I take it I am not going to like what you are about to tell me?"

Resting his hand on the younger warden's shoulder, the former templar nodded sadly. Alim didn't know if his mournful expression was from thinking about Duncan or whatever this _Calling_ was. After pausing to collect his thoughts, Alistair began to speak.

"Becoming a Grey Warden is a death sentence," he said in an even tone that belied the resignation he felt. "The taint that enables us to track the darkspawn and defeat the archdemon ultimately claims us as well. The nightmares will begin to intensify, and then it gets even _better_. If it goes on long enough we eventually turn into the very abominations we've sworn to protect Ferelden from."

"Wh-what?" Alim asked frantically. "How much time are we talking about here? A year? Five years?"

Alistair calmly shook his head. "No… not that imminent. Thirty years, give or take a year or two. From what I was told by a few of the older wardens, we'll know when our time is coming. That's what they refer to as the Calling. When that happens, almost all Grey Wardens make their way to Orzammar and the Deep Roads."

Alim was in shock, with so many questions burning through mind that it was hard to think clearly. "Wh-why do they do that?"

"There are always darkspawn down in the depths of the Deep Roads. On the surface we usually only see darkspawn during a Blight, but the dwarves are ever at war with them. The Grey Wardens go there for one last glorious battle. Better to go out taking a horde of darkspawn with you than turning into one and having to be put down by friends or family."

"The Grey Wardens…" Alim scoffed acerbically, "the gift that just keeps giving."

"And you wondered why Grey Warden secrets are _secret_, didn't you?" Alistair replied sarcastically. "Who would ever choose to be one willingly if they knew the truth ahead of time?"

"Yet Grey Wardens are the only ones who can stop a Blight…" sighed Alim, trailing off. He wanted to be angry, but he found himself oddly enough unable to. He felt a mixture of sadness, frustration, duty, and resignation to his fate.

"I am sorry, Alim…"

Alim shook his head. "Do not be. I am not pleased about the situation, but we are no different. You did not have a choice either." A silence fell over the pair for a minute before Alim spoke again. "Make me a promise, Alistair?"

Alistair looked at the younger man curiously, silently prompting him to continue.

"Even though you will be the king of Ferelden and… who knows what I will be doing… promise me we will go to our Calling together when it is time? That we will finish what we started more or less together?"

Alistair smiled broadly, buoyed by the unspoken confidence his companion had that they would defeat the Blight and go on to live out the rest of their days until the time of their Calling. And Alim was a lot more confident of him becoming the king than he was. "We will, Alim, we will," he promised.

-==0==-

Alim finished speaking in a low voice, opening his eyes and looking up at the night sky. It was later in the evening and he was off by himself at the edge of the camp, though he took care to make sure he was still within line of sight of Morrigan, the only other companion outside their tent when he walked over to his quiet spot. Sighing, he turned around, and was startled to see Leliana standing a few feet away.

Seeing his startled expression in the dim light given by the moon and the camp fires, she smiled softly. "I heard you praying when I approached, I did not wish to disturb you."

The elven warden nodded, his face taking on a reticent expression.

"Alistair told me I should come find you," she explained. "He said you would not be able to talk about what he told you, but that it was something you might not have taken as well as you let on."

Alim closed the gap between the two of them and rested his forehead on her chest while slipping his arms around her waist. "I am sorry for earlier…" his said softly. "I did not mean what I said in the manner it was taken, but I understand I should not have said it at all."

Leliana lightly ran her fingers through his hair while pulling him tightly to her body with her other arm. "Thank you, but you are trying to change the subject, no?"

"Only because I do not know how to explain without breaking my oath to the Grey Wardens," he admitted.

Trying to make him laugh, she replied, "Maybe when we are in our old age and death is coming to claim us, you can tell me all these secrets before we slip off peacefully to be with the Maker." Leliana had no way of knowing it was exactly the wrong thing to say. After several moments of silence elapsed she felt him shuddering slightly and his tears wetting her warm skin.

She tugged lightly on the back of his hair in order to tilt his head up so she could see his face. When she did, she saw his eyes and he didn't need to say a word. She knew. Leliana gulped in realization, and whispered in a calm but factual tone, "You will not have an old age."

Alim pursed his trembling lips, trying to hold himself together. He didn't know what to say, there wasn't much he _could_ say. He settled for a simple admission of closing his eyes and quickly shaking his head.

Leliana pulled his head back down to her chest. "By the Maker! What did they _do_ to you?" she whispered hoarsely, kissing him repeatedly on top of the head. They both knew the question was largely rhetorical, that he wouldn't be able to actually tell her.

In a very soft, tentative tone, he said, "I… I will un-understand if this changes things between us. I did not know before now."

"No, my dearest one, no…" she whispered back, her own heart grieving for him. "I will stay with you until the end." She paused briefly before asking, "Are you able to give me any hint at all as to how long it would be, without breaking your oath?"

"I… I d-do not want to worry you… all I can s-say for now though is it would be some years, and when it comes I would have some amount of warning."

"Well… all we can do is make the most of the time we have, no?" she stated resolutely.

Nodding, Alim sighed. "Thank you for not giving up on me…"

Leliana smiled. Releasing the embrace, she took his hand and tugged, indicating she wanted him to follow her back to the tent. "Come, my warden, we have some living to do…"

-==0==-

Leliana walked out of the library in the Circle Tower, sighing in frustration after her conversation with the Tranquil mage librarian yielded no new answers to her questions. It had been a bit of a long shot anyway, but after talking to Wynne along the way and finding out she knew a fair amount about the Grey Wardens, she'd been encouraged by the older woman's suggestion that there might be even more knowledge in the Circle of Magi library. Her hope had been that these Grey Warden _secrets_ were not so secret and that she could find out what exactly Alim and Alistair were faced with.

Leliana was shaken from her thoughts by a sarcastic voice questioning her. "Take a wrong turn? Surely a _bard_ would have no business in a library filled with tomes on magic?"

"Morrigan…" Leliana sighed. Ignoring the taunt, she answered honestly, "I was hoping to find information on the Grey Wardens. Wynne thought it was a possibility."

"Ahhh, books of stories of their legendary exploits _would_ be of interest to a story teller like yourself. I myself have decided that if I have to suffer being in the presence of these fools who allow themselves to be controlled by the Chantry, I might as well take advantage of their library to see if I can pick up any new spells or arcane knowledge."

Leliana shook her head. "No, about their rituals, about what enables them to defeat a Blight where others cannot, and what the consequences of that are."

Morrigan looked at the red haired girl curiously. "'Tis the taint within them."

"Taint? What is this taint you speak of?"

"They are tainted by darkspawn, presumably it is in their blood."

Leliana's eyes narrowed, her brow furrowing. "What else do you know of this?"

"Truly not much, what little I do know I learned from Flemeth. I do not know how much she knew herself, not that we can ask her at this point. I suspect one would need to _become_ a Grey Warden to learn what you wish to know. Why is it you wish to learn these things?"

The bard glanced left and right to make sure no one else was coming or within earshot. "What I tell you I do in confidence. I know that Grey Wardens pay a high price for being wardens, a deadly price. I would seek to find a cure."

"_How does she know?" _Morrigan asked herself. "_Or, perhaps she is not referring to what happens with the archdemon?" _"What is this _price_ you refer to?"

"They do not live very long lives. How long, I do not know. And Alim has admitted to being plagued with nightmares of darkspawn on almost a nightly basis. I… have seen him thrashing in his sleep at times."

"Ahhh, yes… sharing a tent is not all fun and games is it?" Morrigan asked in amusement.

"Anyway… I trust you will not repeat what I have told you, yes?"

Morrigan nodded. "I have no reason to."

-==0==-

Leliana paced restlessly in her room. Alim was still at dinner with First Enchanter Irving and Wynne among others, and her mind was refusing to let go of the topic that consumed her thoughts. Morrigan's words rang through her ears, _"I suspect one would need to become a Grey Warden to learn what you wish to know."_ The more she considered it, the less crazy it sounded. _"Why not?"_ she thought. _"Even if I do not ever find a cure, I will at least be able to share in his sufferings, with no secrets between us required."_ Impulsively, she strode from her room and down the hall. Finding the door she was looking for, she took a deep breath and knocked.

-==0==-

"Leliana?" asked Alistair, perplexed as to why the bard had come to his room. As soon as he opened the door, she pushed her way in without asking. She paced back and forth holding her arms behind her back.

"What's the matter?" Alistair asked when she didn't respond.

She finally stopped pacing and turned to face the elder Grey Warden in Ferelden, which wasn't saying much since there were only two presently. "This _Joining_ ritual is how one becomes a Grey Warden, yes? I wish you to perform it on me."

Alistair's jaw dropped, his mouth open wide in shock. "Wh-what?"

"I wish to become a Grey Warden, so I need you to do the Joining."

The former templar shook his head in disbelief. "What did Alim say about this?"

"He did not say anything," she answered noncommittally. It was neither a lie nor completely the truth.

Looking at her skeptically, Alistair replied, "I don't believe that." He scrutinized her expression, but the bard was a master of deceit when she wanted to be and revealed nothing. "I'm going to go ask him myself."

"You cannot," Leliana said quickly. "He is still occupied with the business of securing the help of the Circle."

"Wait a minute… you haven't told him at all, have you?"

"It is my decision, no? How much time do you need to prepare the ritual?"

"Even if I _could_ conduct a Joining, which I can't, I would not for you!" Alistair declared emphatically.

"What do you mean, you cannot? If neither you nor Alim can perform a Joining, what does that mean for the future of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden?"

"It _means_ that at some point, probably after the Blight, we'll need to find the wardens in Orlais, or even perhaps in the Anderfels, and have the ritual taught. It's not our fault that the two newest wardens were the only ones to survive Ostagar!"

Leliana scowled in frustration. "Tell me, if performing the ritual was not a problem, why would you not have me in your Order? Do you not think I am qualified?"

"It has _nothing_ to do with your qualifications."

"Then what is it?" she asked, her voice rising in irritation.

"I would not do that to Alim!" Alistair shouted back.

"You would not do _what_ to Alim?" inquired a voice from the doorway. Both Alistair's and Leliana's heads snapped in that direction, stunned to see Alim standing there with a guarded expression on his face.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Leliana asked. "I thought you were at dinner with the First Enchanter."

Alim strolled into the room, still wary of what was going on. "We finished. I came to tell Alistair that Irving is honoring our treaty, he will send the Circle mages when the time comes."

"That is great news!" exclaimed Alistair. "Now hopefully the dwarves will follow suit, and then-"

Alim raised his hand to silence his friend. "What are you two plotting concerning me?"

"_I _am not plotting _anything_," Alistair grumbled. Alim's eyes shifted over to Leliana.

Leliana met his stern gaze with her own. "I asked Alistair to conduct the Joining ritual on me so I could become a Grey Warden."

Alim's eyes opened wide in shock. "Wh-what? Wh-why?"

Alistair laughed despite the situation. "I had the same reaction when she asked."

"What did you tell her?" the younger warden demanded, his tone filled with worry.

Alistair held up his hands in front of him, gesturing for Alim to calm down. "I told her that I don't even know how to prepare the ritual, and even if I did I wouldn't do it for her, not without you knowing about it. There is no way I'd do that to you."

Alim nodded, his tense expression softening.

"Is it not _my _choice?" Leliana asked, still exasperated. "If I become a warden, then we do not have these secrets between us, no? I could help you more, because I would know what you are experiencing and not just have to guess. And if you cannot live to grow old, I would give that up too for you."

Alistair looked over at Alim curiously after Leliana's last remark, wondering how much he'd revealed to her. For his part, Alim blinked in stunned realization at how far she was willing to go for him. He was nearly overwhelmed by the sentiment. Seeing Alistair's expression and knowing he was silently questioning his fellow warden, Leliana explained, "He did not tell me anything, Alistair, I guessed it from his physical reaction to something I said. He is very expressive even without words, whether he intends to be or not."

Nodding solemnly, Alistair replied, "And you are a master at reading people."

"It is part of the job description," she answered unyieldingly, still watching Alim carefully.

"Somehow I think you're going to know all of the Grey Warden secrets before it's all over, whether you are one or not," Alistair said, sighing.

"Yet you still will not tell me why I cannot be one!" Leliana countered pointedly.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway since we can't do a Joining, does it?"

Leliana glared at Alistair in response to his copout answer. "Orlais is only on the other side of the Frostback Mountains from Orzammar. We could easily travel there after we are finished with the dwarves, no? Then you would no longer have this excuse."

Alim snapped out of his stupor at her suggestion, his eyes filling with fear, while Alistair merely sighed at her dogged stubbornness. The older warden threw his hands up in the air. "Tell you what, if Alim agrees to it then fine, we'll do it. Otherwise it's not going to happen."

"Alim?" asked Leliana softly.

Alim exhaled audibly. "What am I supposed to do here, Alistair? How can I explain that I do not want her to do it when I cannot tell her why?"

"You have to tell her to just trust you on it."

"Great… the old 'just because I said so' explanation? You think that is going to satisfy her?"

"If you have a better idea, then by all means use it."

Leliana screamed in frustration. "Will you two stop talking like I am not standing right here?"

Alim pursed his lips, glaring in irritation at Alistair. He knew his friend was right, but he didn't have to like it.

"Leliana, I do not want you to attempt to become a Grey Warden. Please trust me on it," he said as evenly as he could.

Something about the way he phrased his statement struck her as odd. After a few moments she realized what it was. "Attempt?" she asked. "As in, one can try to become a Grey Warden but fail?"

Alim closed his eyes, trying not to give away anything else with his expression.

Alistair groaned. "See, this is exactly what I meant earlier about learning all of our secrets."

Leliana crossed her arms across her chest. "Since I have never heard of a former Grey Warden recruit, I can only assume this failure results in death, yes?"

This time Alistair laughed, his tone taking on a lighthearted disbelief at her ability to extract information someone didn't want to reveal. "Yep… _all _of our secrets. _Alllllll…_"

"Since you have already guessed," the elven warden began, "I will tell you that based on his and my experiences, you would only have a 50/50 chance of surviving the Joining. Whether or not that is true in general or if it was truly only in our experiences, I do not know. But I _do _know this... I _refuse_ to take those odds with you."

Alistair sighed at the younger warden giving away more information than he should have, but under the circumstances he also understood that it didn't make a whole lot of difference. She'd figured out the basic idea on her own. "Leliana, you have some dangerous knowledge now. The Grey Wardens are very protective of that knowledge, for good reason. I ask you this as a friend first and as a warden second; protect these secrets as if you were a warden yourself. If you don't and other Grey Wardens find out, they _will _hunt you down and kill you and anyone else they suspect of knowing."

Leliana nodded. "I think I know a little something of living with dangerous secrets and the consequences of them." Alim frowned, knowing she was referring to Marjolaine. After a momentary silence, Leliana spoke up again. "While we are on the subject of secrets, tell me Alistair, how long do you two really have to live, assuming of course you do not die of unnatural causes?"

"You think being the girlfriend of a Grey Warden entitles you to this knowledge?"

"Are you implying that if I was his _wife_ you could tell me?" Alim raised an eyebrow curiously at that statement, though he didn't say anything in response.

Alistair chuckled sardonically. He knew he was in way over his head sparring verbally with her. "If I answer your question, will you drop the interrogation before he and I are obligated to kill each other for giving away all of our secrets?" he asked sarcastically.

Leliana smiled mischievously. "For now," she answered.

"Yeah… good luck with that one, Alim," said Alistair mockingly, gesturing towards the bard. Shaking his head and sighing, he continued, "About thirty years from the time of the Joining. If we're all still around when that time comes you can ask what happens then."

Leliana nodded, smiling in humble appreciation. "Thank you, Alistair, for trusting me with this. I know you wish that I did not know, but I swear by the Maker my entire motivation in finding this out is my love for Alim, to help my dearest one. You need not worry about me, I promise you both I will never betray your trust."

Alistair nodded before grinning at his slightly blushing fellow warden. _"I pray that's true, for all of our sakes,"_ he thought to himself.

-==0==-

"Are you upset with me?" Leliana asked as Alim walked her back to her room.

"Not at all…" he replied quietly, gently shaking his head. "If anything, I am incredibly humbled by what you were trying to do."

"My love, I know that look. You have something on your mind."

Alim chuckled softly. "Alistair is right, you are a master at reading people. No, I was just thinking. Before the dinner, Wynne pulled me aside and lectured me about having a relationship with you."

"What?"

"Yes, her opinion is that it is irresponsible for a Grey Warden. She said that love is ultimately selfish, and that in the future I might be required to choose between saving you and saving many others… in other words, being forced to choose between love and duty. She does not think I would be able to uphold my responsibilities both to you and to my duty at the same time."

"And that is her business how?" Leliana asked irritably.

"That is more or less what I said, though admittedly in a more placating tone of voice." He grinned at his love, stopping and turning to face her. "Anyway, just now I was thinking about what you were trying to do back there, and how it was completely opposite of what Wynne said. I could not imagine a more selfless act in the name of love than your willingness to sacrifice so much for me."

Leliana smiled. "I think Wynne's heart was in the right place, but it was not her place to counsel you on the responsibilities of being a warden."

"I do not think she could stop even if she tried," Alim replied, laughing lightly. "Morrigan's nickname _School Mistress_ for her is not far from the truth. Wynne is very well-meaning, but it is in her nature to try to teach and mentor others."

"Did you give an answer to her hypothetical situation, you know, of having to choose between love and duty?"

Alim shook his head. "Not really. I mean, it is easy to give a rational answer and say I would do one thing or another if faced with that kind of situation, but truly I cannot say what I would do until it was happening. I only hope I never have to find out."

The noncommittal answer somewhat bothered Leliana, but she merely nodded without expressing an opinion either way. She was bothered because she knew that if he _was_ faced with that type of situation, he needed to be able to do his Grey Warden duty for the greater good. But she also knew that given his personality and the intense loyalty he was developing for her, he would likely choose her even if it had dire consequences for everyone else. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty over the amount of sway she had with him, and that even though logic told her the responsible thing would be to back off on the closeness of their relationship, she selfishly would not do that. She agreed with him though, hopefully they would never have to find out.

-==0==-

"Is that a merchant cart ahead?" Alistair asked. The group had left the Circle Tower a couple of days prior, traveling north on their way to their ultimate destination of Orzammar.

"Be alert!" Alim warned everyone, "It would not be the first time we have been ambushed under the pretense of a merchant caravan."

Approaching the cart with due caution, the group found a nervous looking man standing next to it. Waving, the man greeted them, albeit somewhat wearily. "Hello, I am Felix."

"Are you a merchant?" Alim asked.

"Aye… though in a bit of bad luck. You looking to trade?"

"What kind of problems are you having?" asked Alim sincerely. Morrigan rolled her eyes at his ever persistence in helping practically everyone they came across with every insignificant little problem.

Felix sighed. "I acquired this control rod for a golem that is supposed to be in the village of Honnleath down south a little way, and even have the phrase to activate it, but for all the good it does me. I found out later that Honnleath is overrun with darkspawn, I'd need an army to go down there to recover the golem!"

"Darkspawn?" asked Alistair, "Are you sure of that?" The merchant nodded in the affirmative.

Alim sighed. "Looks like we are making a detour south to Honnleath."

Felix looked incredulous. "You would go there willingly even knowing there are darkspawn?"

Gesturing to Alistair and himself, Alim nodded. "We are Grey Wardens, it is what we do."

Felix looked over the little elf appraisingly. "Hmmm… this could work out for both of us. How about _you _take the control rod?"

"How do we ever know it works?" Morrigan interjected. "How much are you asking for it?"

"It is yours if you'll take it, I simply want to be rid of the accursed thing at this point. Here, take it." He gave the passphrase to the young elf and wished them luck. Since they had recently restocked from the Circle of Magi quartermaster they didn't need to trade, so they wished Felix well and reversed their course, heading south towards the village of Honnleath.

"_Darkspawn and golems…"_ Alim thought as they marched along, _"It is never dull, is it?"_


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, _that's_ rather gruesome," Alistair remarked, gesturing ahead to a wooden arch along the path into the village of Honnleath. The arch, which stood approximately twenty feet off the ground, had been used as a makeshift gallows and three dead bodies hung from it.

"It is awfully quiet around here. I wonder if anyone is still alive?" Wynne asked.

As they got closer, it became apparent that the bodies had been hanging there for awhile. "Cut them down," barked Alim, the anger in his voice obvious.

Morrigan scoffed. "Why are you so upset, Warden? 'Tis hardly the first time we have seen death. And this village _is _supposed to have been hit by darkspawn."

Alim shook his head. "Absolutely there _are_ darkspawn here, and not far from us. But no, these three were not killed by darkspawn."

"How do you know that?" asked Zev.

"Does it matter?" Sten grumbled. "They are dead, and it is a waste of time to stand here debating why."

Waving his hand towards the bodies, Alim replied, "Darkspawn have no need of desecrating bodies or sending messages in the manner they kill, they simply slaughter indiscriminately. They would not have bothered with hangings. No, I suspect these were hung by the villagers themselves."

"Criminals?" Leliana speculated.

Wynne rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Possibly… but they could have been sacrifices… _offerings_ if you will."

"That is what I am thinking," Alim said, agreeing with the older mage. "Small village, isolated. This was likely done as a religious ritual, hoping whoever or whatever they worship would create a ward around the village to protect it from the darkspawn." He added in a firm tone, "Someone cut these bodies down, now."

"Alim," began Alistair, "they're too high even for Sten to reach, and whatever was stood on to get them up there isn't here now."

Leliana tapped Zev on the shoulder and nodded for him to follow. The pair walked back a dozen paces, where Leliana stopped and took her bow off of her back. Zev caught on to her intent and did the same. With three quick rope severing shots, the three bodies dropped to the ground. Alim dragged them off to the side of the path and stacked them, mumbling a brief prayer before turning to the others and silently gesturing for them to continue on into the village.

Alistair fell in stride with the younger warden. "Ummm, I hate to pry, but what happened back there? Why was it so important to you to get them down?"

Alim glanced over at his companion before turning his eyes back to the road. After a few moments he replied, "Maybe it seems pointless, when chances are they would have been killed by darkspawn anyway. But this type of sacrificial offering is tantamount to blood magic, and you should know by now how I feel about that. And I suspect the victims did not have a choice in the matter. It reeks of evil."

Alistair didn't respond verbally, but his opinion of Alim went up even more. As a former templar he was conditioned to be suspicious and wary of _all_ mages, but Alim was like none he'd ever encountered. He didn't trust Morrigan as far as he could throw her, and even Wynne gave him pause, even more so after her revelation that she had some kind of benevolent spirit inside of her sustaining her life. But he realized that he trusted his fellow warden nearly completely, which was a first for him when it came to dealing with wielders of magic. Alistair didn't have time to contemplate it further though because Zev, who had taken point, was making hand gestures indicating the quantity and general locations of what could only be darkspawn up ahead. Alim gestured for the rest to hang back while he went up to see what Zev was seeing.

-==0==-

"Okay, guys," began Alim, returning back down the hill with Zev, "At the top of the hill the path opens up into a large town square. From what we could see, there are at least four separate groups, with anywhere from six to ten in each group. We have to assume though that more will come crawling out of the woodwork once the fireworks start. The nearest group is in the middle of the square and looks to be the largest. A smaller group is maybe a couple dozen meters directly behind them. Another large group will be to our left, a little further in distance from the main group. The last group is up a slope to the right. It looks to be about eight, but it is a partially obstructed view so it could be more."

"This is the way we will do it," Alim continued, "Morrigan, Wynne, and I will quietly go to the top of the hill and cast area spells to catch them off-guard. I want Morrigan to drop a _blizzard _right on top of the main group in the center. Wynne, hit the group to our left with an _earthquake_. I will send an _inferno_ at the group on the right. If that group is larger than what we expect, at least they will have to take fire damage in order to charge our position."

"I want everyone else to start off with ranged weapons until some of the darkspawn get on this side of our area spells. Sten, Alistair, once we get our initial spells off you are to come up on the left and right of us respectively. Be ready to start firing your crossbows immediately. Switch to melee once the darkspawn are getting close, do what you can to keep them off of us. Scorch, I want you to wait until then to engage as well. Do not run off to meet the enemy where they are."

"Zev, as always you are my mage killer. Be on the lookout for those genlock emissaries and load up on those _Andraste arrows_ that interrupt spellcasting. Try not to get overextended and have to engage in melee further out in the field unless you have to, I don't want you getting caught in _fireball_ or _walking bomb_ explosions. If you run out of mages, your next priority is the archers, and after that is your judgment. Leliana, you are the freelancer. Focus your attacks on where you think they are most effective. Same thing as with Zev, try to stay out of melee unless you're in close supporting Alistair and Sten."

"Wynne, attack when you can, but focus on healing and buffing first and foremost. Morrigan and I will concentrate on offense, but since we have both at least learned the basic _heal _spell from Wynne now, we will supplement her as we can to keep everyone on their feet."

"Everyone ready?" Alim asked, his eyes expressing a calm confidence as they gravitated from companion to companion.

"_Wow…"_ said Zev, chuckling despite the seriousness of the situation.

"What?" Alim asked in confusion.

"Wow, _indeed_," Morrigan stated sarcastically. "Who are you, elf, and what did you do with our warden?" A wry grin formed on her lips.

"We must have missed a stray demon back at the Circle Tower and it took possession of him," offered Alistair in mock seriousness.

Alim's bewildered expression gave way when everyone but Sten and Scorch started laughing, and then he groaned slightly in realization that they were messing with him, playfully giving him a hard time over the unusual amount of asserting himself as the leader he was doing. "Alright, you guys got me," he said, grinning slightly before adding, "but before Sten curses me for wasting time, let's go clean up some darkspawn."

"You might not be hopeless after all, little one," Sten replied. His expression reflected the closest thing to warmth that Alim had ever seen out of the big Qunari.

-==0==-

The battle went largely according to plan, and thirty minutes later the group of adventurers had whittled down the darkspawn forces from the initial contingent of close to fifty to less than ten. Half of those were hurlocks engaged with Sten, Alistair, and Scorch, with Wynne providing healing support. Zev and Morrigan were working on the last enemy mage, while Leliana was engaged in melee with a pair of genlocks away from the main group. Alim had swapped out his staff for _Spellweaver_, and was holding his own against a lone hurlock.

While fighting the hurlock, Alim all of a sudden felt a haze came over him. He could only assume he was hit with a spell, but he didn't know who it came from or what effect it had. He couldn't even tell that it did anything because he didn't feel any different. Ducking a wild chop from the hurlock's battleaxe, the arcane warrior delivered a backhand slash that caught the overextended darkspawn in the side, splitting its flesh and causing blood to gush. He brought the sword back around while stepping forward, preparing to follow up with a forehand chop to his off-balance foe. He was so focused on the single enemy in front of him that he didn't see the genlock assassin drop out of stealth until it was wedging its dagger into the seam of his armor, driving it through and piercing the elf's upper abdomen just below the rib cage.

Alim grunted painfully, swinging his offhand in a tight arc that connected with the genlock's face hard enough to knock it back, causing the dagger to be ripped from his stomach in the process. The younger warden gasped at the serrated blade tearing his skin and the burning sensation it left behind, but maintained enough concentration to get off a _flame blast_ that hit both the genlock and the Hurlock. He then began backpedalling out of range of an immediate counter. The pair of darkspawn charged the little elf, who remembered his lesson on not fighting them both at once, but he didn't have enough experience to put that lesson to effective use. He danced from side to side dodging attacks, but was struggling to initiate any offense of his own, and he felt himself weakening from his injuries. It wasn't long before he got knocked down trying to parry a strike from the hurlock. The genlock pounced on him and was trying to get its dagger into his throat, which Alim was desperately trying to hold off. Just when he thought he was going to lose his grip on the darkspawn's wrist, the genlock gurgled and went limp. The elf barely noticed the arrow sticking in the side of the assassin's neck as he roughly shoved it up to catch the full brunt of the incoming battleaxe. Sliding out from underneath the dead genlock assassin, Alim rolled to his knees and fired another _flame blast _that finished off the weakened hurlock.

Standing up, his eyes quickly surveyed the battlefield for more threats. Seeing the last two hurlocks still engaged with Sten and Alistair, he moved in from behind and ran one of them through with his sword, while a pair of arrows slammed into the other one. Surrounded and severely outmatched, the final darkspawn warrior fell quickly. Wynne cast a _group heal_ that got most of the battle weary group back close to full strength.

Clutching his side, Alim didn't know what to make of the fact that he didn't feel any recuperative effects from Wynne's healing. He hurriedly cast his own _heal_ spell because he could feel himself weakening further. When that didn't help either, he began to become dismayed, but didn't want to show it. To do so would only invite negative comments about his frail constitution. He hoped that he'd start feeling better as they got moving. Gingerly stepping forward with his arm resting over the slit in his armor where he was stabbed, he called for the others to make their way over to the deactivated golem standing in the center of the town square.

-==0==-

The group stood around the golem, staring at it curiously. "Do you really think it's a good idea to reactivate it?" asked Alistair.

Alim shrugged slightly. "We have the control rod, so I do not see why not." He grimaced slightly, wiping the sweat from his brow. He uttered the phrase he'd been given by Felix, though after a couple of moments it became apparent that nothing was happening.

"The control rod could be broken," suggested Zev.

"Or the fool merchant could have gotten the activation phrase wrong," added Morrigan.

Alim frowned. "Maybe… maybe we can check around the houses and shops in the village and find out more information about this thing. And see if there are any remaining villagers hiding while we are at it."

"I sense more darkspawn nearby, so we'll need to be cautious going into these buildings," Alistair stated.

"Alim, are you well?" asked Wynne, looking at him intently.

He waved his hand weakly in response. "I am fine…"

"You do not look fine, you look like you are going to collapse at any moment," Wynne countered.

"I am just a little tired is all," Alim protested, wiping his brow again. _"Will I ever get to the point where they stop questioning if I can keep up?"_ he asked himself.

Wynne stepped over in front of him, putting her hand on his forehead. She frowned. "Fever," she said simply, immediately casting a _rejuvenation_ spell. "Does that help?"

"Thank you, Wynne," Alim replied noncommittally before turning to the others. He didn't want to appear weak in front of them, so he tried to change the subject away from his health even though Wynne's spell didn't have an effect on him. "I think we should split up to investigate the town. Alistair, Zev, Morrigan, and Scorch will be one team. Sten, Leliana, Wynne, and I will be another. We have a few hours until dusk, let's meet back here then."

As the two teams went their separate ways, Leliana was about to ask Alim how he was feeling when suddenly the elf stopped in his tracks. "Guys," he began unevenly, "I think I was wrong about… b-being f-f-fine… I…" Only the quick reaction of the bard kept the warden from hitting the ground face first.

Setting him down on the ground, Leliana immediately noticed the lightly glowing green residue on his armor and inside of his arm where he'd been covering up his wound. _"Poison!"_ she gasped before shouting for Zev, who hadn't gotten too far with the other group yet.

Wynne immediately knelt down at his side and began examining the young elf. "I do not understand," she mused, "He had multiple healing and rejuvenating spells cast on him. But he seems to be getting worse, not better."

"Why am I not surprised that the School Mistress would be unfamiliar with entropy spells?" asked Morrigan sarcastically. "'Tis a _curse of mortality _spell that prevents its victim from healing, and combined with the poison explains why he is continuing to weaken."

Zev knelt down as well. "Poisons are my specialty, let me see what we have here. Help me get his armor off." After removing Alim's armor and inspecting the dagger wound, Zev's face twitched slightly in concern. "Ahhh, yes, looks like a demonic poison. Very nasty stuff."

"And what does that mean?" asked Leliana in alarm. She was only familiar with basic, common poisons. This was beyond her knowledge.

"It means that if I don't whip up an antidote and those two can't get that curse off of him, he will die soon," Zev responded in a tone that was a little calmer than he felt.

"Let's get him inside that house over there," Alistair ordered, pointing to one close by. Sten scooped up the young elf and carried him over, dispensing with any subtlety by simply kicking the front door in. He laid Alim down on a couch in the front room.

Alistair cleared his throat. "Wynne, Morrigan, and Zevran, stay here and work on healing Alim. The rest of you, come with me to check out the other buildings around here for survivors and darkspawn."

"Wh-what?" Leliana asked incredulously. "You cannot be serious! You cannot ask me to leave him like this!"

Alistair's expression softened. "Leliana, he is in good hands, there is nothing the rest of us can do but be in the way. We can at least be productive with the time, and it will also help keep our minds off of what's going on here. I need your help with this, you're the best at detecting and disarming traps, and at getting past locks."

Leliana bit her bottom lip in frustration. "Of course, you are right." Glancing back at her unconscious love one more time, she nodded. "We shall go."

-==0==-

"It's alright, that was the last of them," Alistair offered in a tone of assurance. The group stood in front of a magic barrier, surrounded by a dozen dead darkspawn. On the other side of the barrier were a large number of terrified villagers. The man that appeared to be the leader waved his hand, causing the barrier to dissipate.

"Thank you, friend," the man said gratefully. The other villagers thanked them emphatically before dispersing through the doorway that Alistair and company had come through.

"Are you the leader of what's left of this village?" Alistair asked.

The man shook his head. "That would be the shaman, who just left with the others. Why do you ask?"

"We're trying to find out more information about that golem outside. We've got the control rod, but the activation phrase the person we got the rod from gave us doesn't work, and we're not sure whether the problem is a broken rod or a bad phrase."

The man scowled slightly. "I am Matthias. That golem belonged to my father, Wilhelm. I'm surprised anyone got a hold of the control rod, my mother swore she was going to have it destroyed after the golem killed my father."

"Sorry…" muttered Alistair awkwardly.

It was many years ago," Matthias replied, waving his hand dismissively. "I have a proposition for you. I will give you the activation phrase, but I need your help first. This is my father's former workshop and lab. My daughter, Amalia, got scared when the darkspawn attacked and ran further down the tunnels in back. My father was a mage and used to conduct a lot of… secret… experiments back there, and he warded the workshop against family members. He said it was to prevent my mother or me from accidentally getting hurt. Anyway, as a result I cannot go back there. If you'll find my daughter and bring her back, I'll give you the activation phrase for the golem."

"Of course we will save Amalia," stated Leliana, immediately agreeing on their behalf.

Sten frowned. "What sort of _secrets_ should we expect to find? With the way mages are in this land, I can only assume he was playing with dangerous things."

Matthias winced slightly. "From what I've read of my father's journals… at different times he was experimenting with golems and… demons. I don't know what exactly you'll find… there could be traps as well. I am scared for Amalia's safety," he admitted.

Alistair groaned at the mention of demons. _"Obviously not scared for OUR safety,"_ he thought cynically to himself. The group made their way into the dimly lit corridor at the back of the room. "Ladies first," Alistair said to Leliana in mock chivalry.

"How gentlemanly of you, my dear Alistair," she replied sarcastically. But she understood the situation. At the mention of the possibility of traps it only made sense for her to take point. She morbidly wondered if they were going to find a little girl dead from tripping one of her grandfather's traps.

-==0==-

"Who _are_ you people, and what gave you the right to tear my front door down?" a gruff male voice called out. Instantly, Zevran, Morrigan, and Wynne turned their attention to the doorway of the house they were in. Morrigan immediately grabbed her staff, which she had previously propped against a wall.

Zevran held his empty hands up as he took a couple of steps towards the man before stopping, indicating his intentions were non-hostile. "Forgive us, one of our friends was badly wounded fighting the darkspawn. Another of our companions, a rather large and impatient Qunari, couldn't be bothered to wait for the door to be opened in a more _elegant_ manner."

The man nodded, the anger slowly fading from his expression. "I believe I have seen him, at least if that other group that rescued us from darkspawn is with you."

"Yes, they were going to check for survivors and to clear out any remaining darkspawn while we treated our friend's injuries."

Eyeing the pale elf lying unconscious on the couch, the man frowned. "What ails the boy? I am the shaman of Honnleath, I might be able to help."

Wynne spoke up. "He was infected both with poison and an entropic curse that prevents healing spells and items from having a recuperative effect. We have staunched the poison and countered it with salves, so he is stable, but we've been unable to dispel the mortality curse. And he is too weak presently to fight it off on his own."

The shaman nodded solemnly. His eyes flicked back and forth between the two other mages warily. As an apostate, he was unsure of how well received his particular brand of magic would be received. "There are magic… _techniques_… that could be of use here," he offered cryptically.

Morrigan scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Speak plainly, _shaman_. What is it you are proposing?"

The older man's lips turned up slightly in a smirk. "Transferring a portion of the life energy from one of you to your friend. That would strengthen him enough to overcome the curse."

Wynne scowled in disgust. _"Blood_ magic…" she hissed.

Morrigan waved her hand dismissively at the old Circle mage. "The method does not concern me, School Mistress." Glaring icily at the blood mage, she asked, "What is the consequence to the person you are taking life energy from?"

"Nothing permanent. Significant fatigue for a day or so, might take a few days to feel completely back to full strength. Recovery time should be about the same for him, perhaps a little less," he added, gesturing to the elf on the couch.

"Very well, how would this proceed?"

"Surely you cannot be actually considering this, child?" Wynne asked incredulously. "I will not take part in this. I do not support this at all."

"Of _course_ you don't!" Morrigan said in a mocking tone. "You would sooner see him die than saved by magic not officially sanctioned by your Chantry."

"Do not presume to think you know me, child," Wynne replied in as even a tone as she could muster.

"Ladies, please," Zevran stated, trying to play peacemaker. "This is about what is best for our leader, not whose philosophy is superior."

Wynne glared bitterly at both of them, knowing she was going to lose this battle. "Do what you will," she hissed, "I do not condone this and will not stay here to witness it. I shall be outside." With that she stormed angrily from the house.

The shaman went to the kitchen and retrieved a ceremonial knife. He took Alim's left hand and cut a scarlet line into the palm. "Which one of you will be the donor," he asked emotionlessly.

"Is there any racial advantage or disadvantage that would favor one of us over the other?" Morrigan asked.

"Not really, though a fellow mage would fuel the process better than a non-mage. But either of you should work."

Morrigan nodded. "I shall do it then." She stepped over and sat down on the edge of the couch next to Alim.

The shaman took her left hand and made a similar incision as to the one he made on Alim's palm. "Clasp your hand to his tightly." After Morrigan pressed her palm to Alim's and intertwined her fingers with his, the shaman placed his hands around theirs and began to chant. After half a dozen or so seconds, Morrigan began to feel as if her life force was being drained. This went on seemingly for minutes, but wasn't longer than about thirty seconds before the ritual was complete. She found herself extremely drowsy, her heavy lidded eyes without focus. She was only vaguely aware of Zevran helping her over to a large easy chair, where she curled up and fell quickly to sleep.

-==0==-

Making their way back across the square after saving Amalia from a desire demon and getting the correct golem activation phrase from her very grateful father, Leliana broke into a brisk jog at the sight of a very agitated Wynne pacing on the front porch of the house where they'd left Alim. "Wynne!" she exclaimed worriedly. Her expression as she approached asked the question she was afraid to give voice to.

"He is alive, child. The village shaman is inside with Morrigan."

"What are they doing?" Leliana asked.

Wynne scowled, infuriated by the situation. "_Blood magic!_" she spat resentfully.

Leliana's eyes grew wide at the revelation. Brushing by Wynne, she darted into the house. Her eyes scanned the front room, rapidly assessing the situation. Morrigan was asleep in a chair. Zev wore a pensive expression as he sat on the floor on the opposite side of the room with his back against the wall. Alim still lay on the couch, appearing very groggy with eyes that flitted between half open and closed. She heard someone in the next room over and assumed it to be the shaman that Wynne mentioned. After briefly checking on Alim and kissing him on the forehead, she turned her attention to the other elf in the room.

"Zev," Leliana whispered hoarsely, "What happened here?"

Zevran glanced up wearily at her, then over to Alim, then back to her. He stood up and walked over to her, taking her by the arm and leading her to the doorway away from the other two. Noticing the others were out front with Wynne, he went outside with Leliana and told all of them at once about the blood magic ritual. Alistair fumed, looking like he wanted to kill the assassin and the witch for allowing it to happen. Zev tried to pacify him, explaining the situation and that Morrigan allowed herself to be used to save Alim, and that both of them would be fine after a few days of rest.

Alistair sneered at the elf. "And how do you think Alim is going to react when he finds out you guys agreed to and even participated in a blood magic ritual to heal him?"

"Alim is _not_ going to find out," Leliana said flatly.

"Wh-what?" asked Alistair incredulously. "You seriously think to keep that from him?"

"Alistair, you know exactly how he will react. Badly… We cannot change that it happened now, and it will only make things worse if we tell him, no?"

Alistair sighed heavily. "You… are right… as much as I don't like it." He threw his hands up in the air in disgust. "We're _not_ staying in this blood mage's house. Sten, please go in there and retrieve Alim. I want him moved to the inn on the other side of the square. The witch can stay for all I care, though you are welcome to move her as well if you feel like it."

-==0==-

Leliana opened her eyes at the sound of someone knocking softly on the door. Rising from the bed, she quietly moved across the floor so not to disturb her sleeping mate. Answering the door, she was surprised to see Morrigan standing there. It had been the better part of a day since the ritual, and almost all the two participants had done in that time was sleep. Leliana raised an eyebrow quizzically at the visitor.

"How is he doing?" Morrigan asked softly, fatigue obvious in her tone.

"Still sleeping mostly, but he is getting better. His color has returned and he appears healthy. If what the shaman said is true, his energy should begin improving soon. You seem to be feeling somewhat better yourself."

Morrigan nodded tiredly. Leliana stepped outside the room and closed the door behind her, so that she was outside in the hall with the other woman. Looking sternly at the witch, in a low voice she warned, "You will _not_ speak to him of what you did, are we clear?"

Morrigan looked at her curiously, but couldn't even work up the energy to smirk in amusement at the bard's reaction.

"I am serious, Morrigan. I do not care what story you wish to tell, but it will not include blood magic rituals. You understand this, yes?"

Morrigan sighed. "As you wish…" She turned to go back to her own room.

"Morrigan?" Leliana whispered hoarsely. Morrigan glanced back guardedly, and was taken aback by the intensity of the emotion in the bard's eyes. "_Thank you_ for saving him."

Morrigan nodded, slightly confused by the abrupt change in the other girl's demeanor. Thinking about it briefly before falling back to sleep a few minutes later, it dawned on her that despite Leliana's personal opinion of the method Morrigan chose, she was appreciative of what the witch had done for Alim. Morrigan smiled slightly to herself at the thought.

-==0==-

Alim awoke early the following morning, sore from the battle followed by a couple of days of doing nothing but lying in bed. By the middle of the day he was up and moving fairly well, as was Morrigan. After being caught up on what happened, albeit with any mention of blood magic being avoided, he decided they'd wasted enough time in Honnleath and declared they'd leave early the next morning. It was late in the afternoon and he was taking a casual stroll around the town square with Leliana when the two of them came back around to where the golem stood. Alim chuckled slightly. "It would have been nice to have this to show for our effort in coming down here," he said, gesturing to the deactivated golem.

"Oh!" exclaimed Leliana. "That is right, we forgot to tell you. One of the villagers we rescued was the son of the mage who owned this golem. After we helped rescue his daughter, he gave us the correct activation phrase. It is _Dulen Harn_."

The words were barely out of the bard's mouth when the golem began to glow softly and reanimate. Leliana looked at Alim in shock, but he only smiled sheepishly in return as he pulled out the control rod.

The large stone golem appeared to stretch, much like an organic would after a long sleep. Becoming aware of its surroundings, it looked down at the tiny elf and slightly less tiny human standing in front of it. Noticing which one had the control rod and that it had a mage's staff on its back, it groaned slightly.

"Great… _another_ mage," it sighed. "What would it have me do for it?"

Alim looked at the golem curiously. "Do you have a name?"

"It cares that I have a name? It does not intend to simply call me _golem_ like my former master did?"

"Would that be the master you killed?"

"I… do not remember. I hope I did, I hope I squished his ungrateful head like a grape. Always telling me what to do, _'golem, go scare those people,' 'golem, I'm tired, carry me…'_ And his wife was even worse, the wench…"

"I am Alim, this is Leliana. You are…?"

The golem looked upon the pair with amusement. "I am Shale. Strange, I feel… different… you obviously have the control rod, yet I don't feel compelled to obey you. Yes, yes, go on, try it. Tell me to do something."

Alim shrugged. "Ummm… okay… come over here."

Shale smirked. "No, I will not. I do not have to obey!" It laughed in amusement with itself.

"Well, okay then…" replied Alim, not really sure what to say.

"Do you know where you are from, or why you were here?" Leliana asked.

Shale filled them in on what she could remember, being found in the Deep Roads by the apostate mage Wilhelm and made to perform all manner of mundane tasks for years. She ended up in the town square apparently after accidentally killing Wilhelm, and Leliana pieced that together with when Wilhelm's wife must have sold the control rod and declared the golem would never be activated again. After the golem's tale, Leliana asked Shale what it planned to do with her newfound freedom and free will.

"I… do not know," Shale admitted. "I will not stay here, but I do not have any place to go either. Perhaps it would like me to accompany it? It must have had a reason for reactivating me in the first place?"

"To tell you the truth," began Alim, "I had not really thought about it. Myself and another of my companions are Grey Wardens, and we are on a dangerous mission to end a Blight of darkspawn. We would welcome your help if you wanted to travel and fight with us. We are actually going to Orzammar after this, you might even be able to find out more about your past there."

"It seems to have a good, if small, head on its shoulders. Yes, I think I will accept its offer."

Alim nodded, chuckling slightly to himself as he imagined the reactions he'd get from his other companions when Shale was introduced to them. "Welcome aboard, Shale."


	5. Chapter 5

"I guess I always thought Orzammar was underground, given all the stories," noted the elven Grey Warden. After a number of false starts in going to the dwarven capital, once they finally left Lake Calenhad after a short stay following their return from Honnleath, the journey to Orzammar had been pleasantly uneventful. They had even managed to catch the Frostbacks during a relatively warm time of the year. The climb was still cold and challenging, but not nearly as bad as if they'd come in winter. So even though everyone was back to full strength by the time they left Lake Calenhad, they were still collectively relieved at the ease of the journey. No one actually vocalized that sentiment though, lest they jinx it.

"Most of Orzammar _is_ underground, Warden," replied Wynne, gesturing to the large fortress-like structure a little further off in the distance. "The surface level of the city is mainly a trade center that few surfacers ever go beyond."

"You have been here before, Wynne?" Leliana asked.

The elderly mage nodded. "Once, many years ago."

"I thought dwarves were incapable of wielding magic?" Zevran remarked. "Why would your Circle have business out here?"

"True, dwarves cannot wield magic. However, the same lyrium rich ore that deadened their connection to magic from long-term exposure is also what drives our own magic. The Circle of Magi has long obtained its lyrium from the dwarves, but even long standing business contracts need renegotiating and renewing."

The group continued to chat casually as they walked through what appeared to be a large circular open air market in front of the gated entrance into Orzammar. Suddenly, amidst the cacophony of voices in the market, Alim caught notice of a merchant trying to call attention to his wares. He stopped walking and motioned for the others to listen up.

"Hey, guys, I want to go talk to one of the merchants. Everyone go ahead and take about 20-30 minutes to look around the market, see if there is anything you want or need. If any armor or weapons catch your eye, just price them for now since we do not know yet what we'll find in the indoor markets. After that we will meet back here and go inside."

Everyone nodded in agreement before beginning to go their separate ways around the marketplace.

-==0==-

Leliana trotted up from behind and hooked her arm around Alim's, leaning into him as she began walking by his side. "What was it you wished to see?" she asked knowingly.

Smiling, he gestured to a merchant about 50 feet away that was currently talking with a customer. "When we were entering the marketplace I heard this guy here shout out his name, _Faryn_."

Leliana's eyes lit up in glee. "Sten's sword!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You should tell him, yes?"

Alim shook his head. "I want it to be a surprise. I did not tell him about the scavenger in Lake Calenhad either."

"You are such a softie," Leliana teased, causing him to chuckle.

-==0==-

"What can Faryn do for you today? I've got the finest collection of pre-owned merchandise you'll find this side of Orlais."

Alim smirked at the mention of _pre-owned _merchandise, the effect slightly sinister looking with the hood of his cloak covering most of his face. "I hear you are the man to talk to about a certain Qunari greatsword that was looted near the Lake Calenhad docks."

The merchant's face twitched slightly at the reference. "I'm sorry, I don't have anything like that. Is there something else I can help you with?"

"Do you see this vision of beauty standing next to me, Faryn? She so happens to be a _bard_ of Orlais. I am sure you were not trying to tell me that her information regarding this sword is inaccurate." The elven warden wasn't particularly concerned that Leliana's profession wasn't actually relevant to how he'd obtained the info regarding the sword, but in light of the merchant's last less than truthful answer, he wanted to portray things in a way where Faryn wouldn't think dishonesty was a viable option. The truth was Alim had simply run into a scavenger at the site where Sten's group of Qunari had fallen to darkspawn in Lake Calenhad, and the scavenger was annoyed enough at buying rights to a site that had already been picked clean to willingly give up the name and location of the person who'd looted it before him.

"Well…" began Faryn, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

Alim interrupted him before he could get started. "Do not even think of lying to me."

Faryn's eyes opened wide, but he tried to cover his fear by being aggressive in return. "I have no reason to believe anything you are saying, pipsqueak. I don't have any Qunari sword, so shove off!"

Alistair was sauntering towards Alim and Leliana when he stopped in his tracks at hearing the merchant's last remarks. He opted to stay within hearing range but not reveal he was with the other two. Alistair thought he might as well keep the element of surprise intact if the argument devolved into something nastier.

Alim demonstrably sighed. "I see you want to be difficult about this. Let me present you with another option then." Turning around, his eyes quickly scanned the marketplace until he found what he was looking for a couple of booths over. Gesturing towards Sten, Alim continued, "See my Qunari friend over there? His name is Sten, and he is a warrior of the Beresaad. That sword you took belongs to _him. _But you see, swords to the Beresaad are not like they are to people like you and me. Their swords are practically a part of who they are. More than that, he is actually honor bound to kill you if he even _suspects_ you are holding out on him, like he has done with several others already."

Faryn cringed slightly, backing down from his previous defiance. "I… I swear… I don't have the sword. I… _did_ have it, but I sold it recently."

Alim crossed his arms as his lips turned down in a frown. "Go on."

"I s-sold the Qunari sword, selling salvaged gear is what I do! I had no way of knowing the owner of it was still alive."

"_Who_ did you sell it _to_?"

Faryn opened his mouth to speak then snapped it back shut as his expression turned contemplative. "That info has value."

Alim scowled, while Leliana rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Continue…" she said simply.

"Well… I think I deserve a _finder's fee_ for telling you where you can find the sword now."

"You do, do you?" Leliana asked in amusement. "And just how much do you think you _deserve_?"

Faryn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm thinking three sovereign ought to do it."

Alim cleared his throat. "I do not think you get it, Faryn. I am _trying_ to keep you alive here." Removing his hood, Alim darkly added, "_Trust_ me, you do _not_ want to have this conversation with Sten. See my face and ear? This happened because I dared to stand between Sten and the guy you sold the salvage rights to at Lake Calenhad. Believe me when I say I will _not_ make that mistake again."

While Faryn gulped in visible fear, the warden drove home his point. "So I suggest you come clean _right_ _now_, and if I have even the slightest suspicion that you are fucking with me, I _promise_ I will call Sten over and watch him tear your arms off and beat you to death with them."

Faryn raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright…" Sighing, he said, "I sold the Qunari sword to a dwarf named Dwyn. He's a collector of that type of thing… he's bought other exotic weapons from me in the past as well. He only comes to Orzammar maybe a couple of times a year, but he lives in Redcliffe so you should be able to find him there."

Alim nodded. "Amazingly enough, I actually know Dwyn, we fought together in the defense of Redcliffe against an army of undead. We will go pay him a visit on our way back from here. Just know this, Faryn… I am a Grey Warden, and if Dwyn tells me he does not know anything about this… I will either haul his ass all the way back here, or kill him if he resists… and either way I will come back and kill _you_. So are _certain _you are telling me _everything_?"

Faryn nodded nervously. "I-I sw-swear, Warden, everything. I swear on my life."

"Yes, you do…" Alim agreed darkly, pulling his hood back on and turning and walking away.

-==0==-

Strolling back toward their meeting place in the center of the market, Alim exhaled audibly, as if in relief. Leliana giggled lightly at his reaction, whispering low in a sultry voice only for him, "That was _so_ hot, my warden, seeing you so forceful and confident like that." Alim chuckled softly, his nerves still calming down.

"So the Grey Wardens are branching out into intimidation and extortion, eh?" asked an approaching voice sarcastically. Alim and Leliana glanced over to see Alistair smirking, a smirk that didn't cover his disapproval.

"You overheard that?" the younger warden asked. Alistair nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alistair," began Leliana in Alim's defense, "it was not quite what it seemed. That _merchant_ is the one that looted Sten's sword while he was unconscious after his squad was attacked by darkspawn."

Alim shrugged. "From what the guy in Lake Calenhad told us, this Faryn guy is pretty shifty. I laid it on heavy because he started off lying about the sword right from the beginning, and I did not want him to think continuing to lie was going to be a viable option. I was really hoping he would not call my bluff on getting Sten, not just because I have been trying to keep the search for his sword a secret, but because honestly… I think Sten really _would_ have torn the guy's arms off."

"Well, since the sap looked like he was going to wet his pants right there in front of you, I'd say you were plenty convincing."

Nodding, Alim grinned sheepishly. "I… have never done anything remotely like that before. Truthfully, I think I was almost as nervous as he was."

Alistair grinned back. "Yeah, well, it didn't show. I never knew you had quite that talented a tongue."

"_I _did_…_" muttered Leliana, half under her breath but loud enough for both men to hear.

Alistair's expression momentarily turned curious, then seeing Alim blushing in embarrassment it dawned on him what she meant. His face scrunched up in disgust. "_Ewwww…._" he groaned. Leliana cackled gleefully at the discomfort of her male companions.

-==0==-

"You are not getting inside Orzammar, and I don't give a damn about your king, so sod off already!" grumbled a dwarven guard at the city gates. Alim and company glanced at each other in regards to the exchange that was taking place between the guard and a few humans.

"Ferelden has no king," scoffed Alistair, waving his hand dismissively.

"Treacherous words, stranger," the leader of the human group stated flatly. "You would be wise to show respect to King Loghain. I am Imrek, his personal messenger."

Alim chuckled sardonically. "Oh? So did Loghain kill his daughter as well and claim the throne? It would be fitting since he already betrayed his son-in-law, King Cailan."

The messenger glared daggers through Alim. "Loghain saved his soldiers from the treachery of the Grey Wardens! They are the ones that led King Cailan to his death!"

"Go home," Alim replied dismissively, "tell your liege that his time is coming. He will die the traitor's death he deserves." He then turned to the dwarven guard. "Ser, my companion and I are Grey Wardens, we have a treaty that compels Orzammar to assist with a Blight."

The guard raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Warden, I fear you will find no assistance here while our own situation with the throne remains unsettled. However, you are welcome to go inside and see if you can address the Assembly."

"Wh-what?" exclaimed Imrek incredulously. "You would let these _traitors_ in but not King Loghain's own messenger?"

"I swear if you refer to Loghain as king one more time I will kill you where you stand," Alim threatened. He may have been bluffing Faryn earlier, but he was deadly serious now. Loghain in general was a very sore subject for the pair of wardens.

"Just take it off my sodding doorstep before you do," the guard grumbled. Imrek's bodyguards were already drawing their weapons, making it clear this was going to get violent.

Alim nodded to his companions, gesturing for them to follow him back towards the field between the marketplace and the gates. The younger warden casually sidled up to Morrigan. "One of them looks like a mage. As soon as the festivities start, take him out," he said. She nodded, and he moved on to Leliana and then Zevran, asking them to flank the field with their bows, putting Imrek and his men in the crossfire between them. The pair of rogues dropped into stealth and moved off to take their positions.

-==0==-

Drawing _Spellweaver_, Alim declared that the messenger had one last chance to leave with his life. When Imrek snarled and ordered his men to attack, the elven warden unloaded a _fireball_ spell that was already on the tip of his tongue. He almost felt a little guilty for phrasing his peace offering in a manner that baited them into attacking… almost. The explosion rocked five of Loghain's six man contingent, with only the mage escaping the blast radius. However, Morrigan was all over him, casting _winter's grasp_ followed by _horror_ followed by _sleep _in rapid succession.

As the remaining five staggered back to their feet, Alim followed up with a _grease_ spell that caused the lingering flames to ignite in a furious blaze, increasing the fiery damage to thewarden's foes. Zev and Leliana launched precision shots from their bows, while Alistair and Sten drew their crossbows and opened fire rather than charging into the flames. While his men fell one by one around him, Imrek screamed half in pain half in rage and charged towards the shorter warden, who twirled his sword in anticipation. Imrek didn't get within ten feet, however, as a _cone of cold_ spell from Morrigan froze him in place. A quick _stonefist_ spell cast by Wynne shattered the frozen messenger into fragments. The mage from Loghain's group woke up from Morrigan's _sleep_ spell with barely enough time to register Shale's incoming fist before it connected with his head and ended his life. The group then gathered back together and started making their way back towards the city gates to enter Orzammar.

-==0==-

Alistair pulled Leliana back out of ear shot of Alim while the group was walking. "Hey, do you know what's going on with him?" he asked.

"Him? You mean, Alim?"

"Of course I do. He seems to be in a very hostile mood today. I've seen him frustrated before, but I've never seen him threaten anyone like he has a couple of times now. I mean, I wasn't real happy with that messenger either, but Alim pushed for a confrontation, like he had it is his mind right off that he was going to kill the guy."

Leliana nodded, her expression one of contemplation as she thought about it. "That bothers you, yes?"

"Well, yeah… it's not like him to go around picking fights or trying to intimidate people. You don't think it's rather out of character for him?"

"To be honest, I rather like this assertive side of him, but I do see your point. I will speak with him this evening."

-==0==-

"Will anyone fault me if I go ahead and just scream loudly now?" asked in Alim in exasperation. In their short time in Orzammar so far, the group had learned that there were two competing factions for the dwarven throne. One was Prince Bhelen, the last living son of the former king. He would seem the logical candidate, except that he was widely viewed as ruthless, immature, and was suspected of having played a large role in eliminating his two older brothers. The party had already witnessed that ruthless side as well, having seen Bhelen mercilessly cut down a dwarf that insulted him in the middle of the Commons.

The other candidate was Lord Harrowmont, a noble with no other claim to the throne than he was supposedly the handpicked successor of the deceased king. The problem with the claim is that no one besides Harrowmont was with the king when he made that proclamation on his deathbed. Still, many seemed to believe it nonetheless. Harrowmont sounded like a nicer man than Bhelen, that much was obvious. Philosophically, Harrowmont preferred to maintain the dwarven traditions to the point of isolating Orzammar even more from the surface world than they already were, while Bhelen wanted to bring sweeping cultural change and open up Orzammar more to the surface world.

The group had talked to quite a number of people in the city, including Bhelen's representative, Vartag Gavorn, and Harrowmont's representative, Dulin Forender. Neither representative would allow the wardens to meet with the men they worked for until they proved their loyalty, and it quickly became obvious that proving their _loyalty_ meant doing a bunch of dirty work for one candidate or the other to discredit their opponent and help them win the throne. Alim and company were now standing in the Commons on the long walkway to _The Proving_, which was a fighting arena where tournaments were held and differences were settled, trying to figure out their next move.

"Do I get to vote?" asked Morrigan sarcastically. "If so, I say we leave these fools to their own infighting. Even if we do manage to put a king on their throne, they will not be united enough to be of much use."

Alim sighed, nodding at the witch. "That is certainly an option we have to consider, the value we would receive in return for the effort."

Alistair shook his head. "The dwarves are traditional allies of the Grey Wardens in times of a Blight. We would be foolish not to obtain their help if we were able to."

"I do not see how we can support either of the candidates though," mused Leliana. "Neither seems especially trustworthy, and both seek to use us as pawns in their political game."

"But at the same time, there are no other candidates," Zev remarked.

Alim scowled again in frustration. "This is so stupid. _I _would make a better king than either of these two idiots."

Morrigan chuckled. "Perhaps you should throw your helm, so to speak, into the mix. Stage a coup and take the throne for yourself."

A dwarven noble passing by stopped at Morrigan's comment. "You know, Warden," he said, scratching his beard, "that's not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all. Better than either one of those poor excuses for dwarves we've got to choose from. Too bad you're not a dwarf though." The noble then walked off, chuckling to himself.

Zev laughed. "He's not _too_ much taller, you know. Maybe we can dress him up in dwarven heavy armor with a full-face helm and pass him off as a dwarf." Most of the others laughed at the thought, while Alim groaned and shook his head at his fellow elf.

"Like I would even be able to walk in heavy armor, I would barely be able to stand."

"'Tis okay," replied Morrigan, "We could work with that." A couple of more dwarves were passing by. Grinning mischievously, Morrigan got their attention. "Hey, you two, tell everyone you know to vote for the Grey Warden here for the next king of Orzammar."

The dwarves looked at her like she had grown a second head, shaking their heads before continuing on their way. Another dwarf walking by in the opposite direction grumbled in response, "About sodding time someone stood up to those nobles, even if it _is_ a sodding knife-ear. Sounds good to me! I'll spread the word, Warden."

Morrigan cackled in laughter, as did most of the others. Even Sten cracked a wry grin at the thought. Leliana hugged her warden from behind, cooing in a playful voice that he would be the cutest dwarven king ever. That drew more laughter from the group and another groan from Alim.

Zev raised his hand. "In all seriousness, if we are forced to choose between this Bhelen and Harrowmont, it would seem that Bhelen is the better choice. Harrowmont is too afraid to be seen in public these days if we are to believe what people are saying about him, and even his own assistant asked us to convince his men to fight in this Proving, because they are too scared to face Bhelen's men and have withdrawn from the tournament. If they are that way now, why should we expect the dwarves under Harrowmont's rule to be any different in the face of a horde of darkspawn?"

Zev's reasoning seemed solid, and after a few moments almost everyone was nodding tentatively in agreement. "You are right, Zev," agreed Alim. "However, before we commit to Bhelen I want to take these supposed land contracts to the Shaperate to have them looked at. Vartag seemed very evasive about the legitimacy of them, and I want to make sure they _are_ legit before we go convince a couple of Assembly members to change their votes from Harrowmont to Bhelen. I do not buy Vartag's story that the Shaper of Memories would not uphold the law and expose Harrowmont offering the same land to multiple nobles for their vote just because they are distant relatives. So let's head over to the Shaperate."

-==0==-

While walking through the noble district known as the Diamond quarter towards the Shaperate, which was on the far side of the district, the group passed by a crier out on the street in front of Harrowmont's estate.

"News of the hour!" the crier shouted out, "Grey Warden seeks to usurp the throne! Will Orzammar stand for such blasphemy by a surfacer? Lord Harrowmont vows Warden challenge will not go unanswered!"

Alim's jaw dropped in shock, while the others laughed gleefully. "Morrigan!" exclaimed the younger warden. He didn't need to say anything else, everyone knew exactly what he was thinking. He simply shook his head and resumed walking at a slightly faster pace.

Morrigan laughed again. "Come now, Warden, 'tis a much more amusing way to pass our otherwise horribly tedious time here." Alim scoffed, but the effect was largely lost due to the thin smile across his lips.

They made it to the royal palace before running into another crier on the street.

"News of the hour! Harrowmont's popularity in decline as Grey Warden challenges for the throne! Prince Bhelen claims this as proof of his stronger candidacy! Lord Harrowmont expresses outrage at Grey Warden mockery of election process!"

Amidst the laughter at his expense, Alim waved his hand and said, "I hate you all," before failing in his attempt to stifle his own giggles at the situation. The situation with the dwarven throne had officially reached comical status.

-==0==-

"Ahhh, Warden, good to meet you finally. I have heard much about you already," declared the Shaper of Memories, smiling amicably at the arrival of Alim, Alistair, Leliana, Scorch, and Shale. The group had decided to cover more ground by splitting up, so the others had gone off shopping, information gathering, and running errands in other parts of the Diamond quarter and in the Commons.

The elven warden smiled in slight embarrassment. "Yes, well, I apologize for that. It appears a joke made on my behalf has grown legs. I assure you I have no inclination towards involving myself in dwarven politics in any manner."

The Shaper nodded solemnly. "I would not have expected so. Anyway, it is always an honor to host one from your Order."

"Do many Grey Wardens come here?" asked Leliana. Alim and Alistair exchanged knowing glances.

The Shaper nodded again. "Yes, it is common for wardens to come to Orzammar when they are ready to retire. It is a long standing tradition that they join the dwarven _Legion of the Dead_ for one last battle against darkspawn in the depths of the Deep Roads. We hold great respect for the Grey Wardens for their sacrifice, and Orzammar owes much of its safety to this."

Leliana's eyes gleamed at the new knowledge. "Do you know why they do that? I mean, why it became their tradition?"

The Shaper tugged at his beard thoughtfully. "Some I have talked to have mentioned feeling that it was their time. Perhaps it's part of the oath they take when they become wardens and they prefer to join the _Legion_ before they became too old and feeble to battle darkspawn, I can't say for certain. I only know that once they leave for the Deep Roads, they never come back. The stories and legends are that they continue on as far as they can go before falling in battle."

"Thank you, Shaper," replied Leliana. _"So now I know what happens in about thirty years, now I am only missing what happens then that causes them to go on this suicide mission," _she thought. As the Shaper turned his attention to Alim and the papers he was holding, she grinned smugly at Alistair, who just shook his head in disbelief.

-==0==-

After leaving the Shaperate, Alim laughed sarcastically. They'd managed to pick up a couple of new side quests, and found out the promissory notes that supposedly showed Harrowmont had pledged the same real estate to two different nobles were forged. The latter was not a surprise at all, but it complicated things somewhat, since none of them were willing to deceive people on Bhelen's behalf just to get him on the throne so he'd support them against the Blight. And after hearing that the Shaper of Memories was only a distant relative to Harrowmont and that he was also distantly related to a number of other noble families on either side of the debate, they didn't at all buy Vartag's suggestion that the Shaper would be biased in favor of Harrowmont. Additionally, Shale was annoyed that while the Shaper knew a bit about golems, he could tell her nothing of her personally and his only suggestion was to go far into the Deep Roads past _Caridin's Cross_ to possibly find out more.

"Where to now?" asked Alistair.

Alim shook his head, sighing. "If it is alright with you guys, I am ready to call it a day as far as running around talking to people goes. It is already evening, so I do not know how much more productive we could be anyway. Wynne was getting rooms for us at that inn near _Tapster's _tavern in the Commons, so let's head back there."

"After the way today has gone, _Tapster's_ sounds good, no?" Leliana replied, grinning.

Chuckling lightly, Alim shrugged. "I am game if you are. We can see who else wants to go, and head over after a short rest and dinner."

"I think I'd almost rather be trapped alone with the witch before willingly subjecting myself to a room of drunken dwarves," joked Alistair. "You guys have fun though."

-==0==-

"Where are you dragging me? I thought we were going to the inn?" asked Alim, perplexed at Leliana's persistence in tugging him over towards the markets.

"Oh, just come on, you will see!" she answered, continuing to lead him by the hand through the crowd.

Leliana stopped in front of a merchant, her abrupt stop causing Alim to slam into her from behind. "Are we there yet?" he asked sarcastically.

"It is… gone?" she said in a tone mixed with surprise and disappointment.

"I am Legnar, proprietor of this establishment. Can I help you find something?"

Leliana nodded. "I was here earlier today with a friend, looking at the _Shadow of the Empire_ light armor. Do you still have it? I do not see it out now."

Legnar shook his head. "Sorry, sold it a couple of hours ago. No surprise it went so quickly, even if expensive it was a very nice piece. I barely had it a day."

"I see… thank you…" she muttered. "We can go, Alim," she said in a soft, melancholy tone.

As the couple walked back towards the inn, Alim quietly asked about the armor. Leliana shook her head, smiling sadly. "It was an incredible set of rogue armor. It was _perfect_ for me. Zev and I saw it while we were waiting for you and Alistair to finish talking to the captain of the guard, and well… I had kind of hoped to talk you into letting me get it."

"Why did you not simply buy it? It is not likely I would have said no."

"It was very expensive, almost fifteen sovereign, and it would not have been right to have just spent that much of our group's coin without asking first. But now I almost wish I had. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, yes?" She giggled slightly, but in a tone weighed down by disappointment.

As they got closer to the inn, Alim cleared his throat. "Speaking of not spending coin, I told Wynne not to bother with separate rooms for you and me. I guess I should have asked you first, but I thought it would be okay?"

This time Leliana giggled sincerely, loving that he so increasingly confident about his place with her. "Of course, my dearest one, I would ask what was wrong if you _had _gotten separate rooms."

-==0==-

After entering their room and setting their things down, Alim took off and tossed his drakeskin armor, gloves, and boots on a chair and flopped down on his back on the bed, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. Leliana sat down on the bed briefly, then got up and went into the bathroom to freshen up and to change into something more comfortable than her armor. She'd barely turned the light on and closed the door when she suddenly shrieked loudly.

Alim fought to stifle the giggles at her reaction, continuing to lie on the bed with his eyes closed.

Leliana shrieked several more times before roughly pushing the bathroom door open and leaping several feet to land on the bed on top of him. Other than an "oomph" escaping his lips from her weight coming down on him, he gave no reaction other than a self-satisfied grin that was struggling not to break into gleeful laughter.

"How did you know? I cannot believe it! When did… I mean, how… when…"

A chuckle finally escaped Alim's mouth, though he still kept his eyes closed as if trying to rest. "For a _bard_, you are not very eloquent, you know?" he said in a teasing tone, earning a light, playful smack in the arm from his partner. He finally opened his eyes and stared into hers, which were lit up in happiness and passion. "I did okay then?" he asked, smiling.

Rather than speaking immediately, Leliana crashed her mouth down on his in a passionate kiss, which he eagerly returned. After pulling back from the kiss but still laying on top straddling him, she lightly stroked his cheek with her fingers and hoarsely whispered, "I still cannot believe it…"

Alim chuckled. "Zev told me about the armor while we were walking around, said he had never seen you so excited about a piece of equipment. Of course, I told him that he had not seen you when we picked up the _Bard's Dancing Shoes_ leather boots. Anyway, he was teasing me about you turning on your _charms_ to convince me to get the armor, but I told him to go ahead and buy it and stow it in our room as a surprise." Grinning, he mimicked her manner of speech while adding, "Much more fun this way, yes?"

"Oh?" she asked, returning his teasing tone, "more fun than me using my _charms_ on you?"

Laughing, Alim shook his head. "You know what I mean. Besides, I'd rather you not use your _charms_ to manipulate me into doing something."

Flashing a mischievous grin, she replied, "But they are good for saying _thank you_, yes?" The expressions they both wore as she leaned back in said everything. That question was as rhetorical as one could be.

-==0==-

"Warden! Warden! Warden!" came the chant from the drunken crowd in _Tapster's_ tavern as Alim's presence made itself known. With him were Leliana, Zev, and Sten.

"Going to kill Morrigan, oh yes I am," Alim sang in a sing-song tone that only his friends could hear while plastering a fake smile on his face for the benefit of the crowd. A waitress came over to direct them to a table in the corner and to take their orders. As she started to leave, Alim waved her back. "Hey," he said, "go ahead and set up the house with a round of your best ale, on me."

After the waitress shouted out to everyone in the tavern that the next round was on the Warden, more chants started up in support of Alim for king. Glancing back at his friends, he couldn't help but crack up at their stunned expressions.

"I think someone enjoys the attention a little more than they've let on," Zev teased.

"Perhaps the warden is merely assisting them in their mass suicide here," remarked Sten.

Alim laughed. "Actually, I am simply buying a little good favor… favor that will hopefully be useful in building support to help with the Blight without having to shill for Bhelen or Harrowmont."

"I still think you would make a cute dwarven king," replied Leliana, pinching his cheek playfully.

"I would not make a cute _anything_, at least not without a lot of alcohol," he replied sarcastically before chuckling.

-==0==-

A few hours and many pints of ale later, Alim stood up from the table. "Hey, guys, I am going to step outside for some air and to stretch my legs. I will be back in a few minutes."

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Leliana, smiling half-drunk.

"No, it is alright. I will not be gone long." Grinning, he added, "Besides, Zev might need some help keeping Sten from getting back up on stage and reciting more Qunari poetry. A bard he is _not._"

The drunken Qunari scoffed. "Uncultured swine…" he muttered, causing the others to laugh.

-==0==-

Stumbling slightly as he reached the bottom of the stairs outside of _Tapster's_, the elven warden caught himself before bumping into the group of dwarves in front of him. "'Evening, gents," he said, flashing an easy smile. Noticing the men weren't moving, he stepped to the side, turning to maneuver around them. However, another dwarf stepped in front of him to block his way.

"Excuse me," said Alim, turning to move in another direction only to be blocked again. He glanced around warily, noticing he was becoming surrounded. "Uhhh… can I help you guys with something?"

A broad-shouldered roguish looking dwarf with a long blood red beard and wearing medium scale armor grabbed the warden by the arm. "Lord Harrowmont is very displeased with your antics, and at your obvious lack of respect for our political turmoil. You need to come with us, Warden, so we can _explain_ how dwarves feel about outsiders mocking us."

Alim was admittedly starting to get somewhat nervous, especially since not only was he outnumbered seven to one, but it dawned on him that he left his staff inside the tavern propped against the wall behind Sten. And he hadn't even bothered to take his longsword with him to _Tapster's_, thinking it unnecessary to be so heavily armed just to go the short distance in the Orzammar Commons from the inn to the tavern. Without either his staff or _Spellweaver, _he'd have to rely only on spells. Glancing around, he didn't notice any guards or anyone else that would likely help him nearby. _"My best bet would be to stun and flee,"_ he thought.

"Gentlemen, I assure you that I neither started the rumor about me wanting to become your king nor do I have any intention of ridiculing your election process. I am simply here with a fellow Grey Warden to solicit support against the Blight we are facing on the surface, nothing more."

"Grey Warden or not, we can't have you harming Lord Harrowmont's chances. And that means you won't be working for Bhelen either." The dwarf added in a threatening tone, "Now, you can come with us quietly, or you can make it hard on yourself."

"Your point has been made. Now if you will excuse me, my companions are waiting inside. Good evening to you." Alim pulled his arm free of the dwarf and attempted to push between two of the other dwarves blocking his path, but fairly drunk he stumbled and they roughly shoved him back. He was caught by another dwarf behind him, who held his arms back even while Alim struggled to break free. "Let go of me!"

"Looks like he's a feisty one, boys!" commented the dwarf that appeared to be the leader, laughing darkly. He stepped forward and punched the elf hard in the gut, which would have doubled him over if he wasn't being held in place. He grunted in pain.

Alim was mentally chastising himself for being caught so unprepared. Coughing, he spat angrily, "This is your last chance… release me and I'll let you live."

The group of fanatical Harrowmont supporters laughed uproariously. The dwarven leader rocked him again with another gut punch. Trying to maintain concentration, the elf quickly muttered a few words and cast a _mind blast_ spell. He was dismayed, however, that only four of the seven dwarves were affected by the spell.

"He's a mage!" exclaimed one of them in surprise. The leader reacted quickly, swinging hard, his gloved fist eliciting a violent _crack_ as it connected with the side of the warden's chin, breaking his jaw. "That should shut him up," remarked one of the other dwarves snidely. "No more spell casting," the leader agreed.

"Won't make him any uglier though," suggested another one contemptuously.

In a last ditch effort, Alim raised his legs and lashed out while still being held back. The heel of his right boot struck the surprised leader square in the mouth, knocking out half a dozen teeth in the process. The dwarf roared in pain, spitting out teeth and blood that nearly matched the color of his beard. Multiple dwarves descended quickly on the warden, throttling him while dragging him around the side of the tavern. As he weakened, the elf had even less strength to attempt to break free from his captors, and could do nothing but be held in place and absorb the punishment he was being dealt.

-==0==-

At a break in the conversation, Leliana frowned. "Alim has been gone for awhile, no? Think we should go check on him?"

Zev shrugged tiredly. "Why not? I think I am about ready to return to the inn, anyway. Sten?"

The big Qunari that was so drunk he'd nearly passed out in his chair merely stood slowly in response, turning to grab the greatsword he'd propped against the wall behind him. "The little warden did not take his staff with him," he noted in a mumbled slur, gesturing to Alim's staff standing next to his sword.

Leliana felt a twinge of anxiety, but tried to push it back down just as quickly. There wasn't a reason for him to _need_ his staff just going out front for a minute, she reasoned, trying not to be panicky over his safety. "Go ahead and bring it, Sten. We will have to give him a hard time about misplacing his things."

-==0==-

Not seeing the warden as they reached the bottom step out in front of _Tapster's_, Leliana began to look a little more nervous. Exchanging glances with Zev and Sten, they spread out looking. Leliana walked around to the side of the building, her eyes widening briefly in fear at the sight in front of her. "_Alim!_" she screamed, her fear immediately giving way to rage. She drew her daggers on the run, her alcohol dulled senses and reflexes still plenty fast enough to end the life of the first dwarf she reached before he even knew it was coming. It was only moments later that Sten and Zev came running up, drawing their own weapons. They heard a dwarf shout, then the remainder of the group all took off running in the direction of Dust Town. With no one holding him up, the elven warden immediately dropped to the ground in a broken heap.

With her only concern being the wounded elf on the ground, Leliana made no attempt to pursue his attackers. She raced over and quickly knelt down at Alim's side, rolling him over on to his back. She cringed at the bloody mess that was his face. "Sten!" she hissed, her voice filled with worry and anger, "We have to get him to Wynne! Zev, run ahead and make sure she knows we are coming."

-==0==-

"Well…" began Wynne about 45 minutes later, "I have done what I can for him for now. His broken jaw and broken ribs are mended, his cuts treated, and his bruises are not as bad as they were. Morrigan and I can supplement the natural healing process for the next few days, but his body will still need to do its part. And that will take time. He will be fine, but it would be best if we keep him away from anything too strenuous tomorrow."

Just then there was a knock at the door. Leliana answered it to find Morrigan, with Scorch at her side. "May I come in?" Morrigan asked. The tone of her voice was even but her eyes were awash in fury. It was obvious that after he left the room, Zev had gone and told her, and presumably the others, what happened. The bard nodded solemnly and stepped aside. As the witch entered the room she spied the warden's clothes on the floor by the bed and gestured for the Mabari to investigate.

Morrigan stopped at the foot of the bed and frowned at the sleeping elf lying on it. "Injuries?" she asked pointedly.

Wynne sighed. "Only the bruising at this point."

"'Tis obvious he is badly bruised. What did he have before?"

"A few broken ribs and a broken jaw, and he was cut up and bleeding."

Morrigan nodded, her expression stern but revealing no other emotion. "This was done by followers of this Lord Harrowmont?"

"That appears to be the case. Alim was not able to say much though."

"Did you get what you needed, dog?" asked Morrigan. Scorch barked in response.

"What was he doing?" asked Leliana curiously.

"Picking up the scents from the warden's clothes."

"Why?"

Morrigan turned and gave the bard a steadfast glare. "We are going hunting."

Leliana's eyes narrowed at the implication. "I shall go with you."

Morrigan shook her head. "No, you will stay. He will need you when he awakes. I will take the dog, the assassin, and the golem. Better for the fool to continue snoring loudly, blissfully unaware, and the Qunari consumed far too much alcohol to be of use tonight." The definitiveness in her tone left no room for argument.

Leliana nodded. She suspected that the witch was motivated only by guilt over having contributed heavily to what started out as a joke and ended with Alim beaten to within an inch of his life, but that didn't matter at the moment. She was grateful that Morrigan took the initiative to go after the bastards that hurt him. "Maker guide thy hand…" she said resolutely before turning away from the raven haired girl.

* * *

**AN: Think I should have them bail on getting the support of the dwarves, or find a way to make it work for them anyway? I'm undecided at this point. Also, let me know what you guys think about some of the creative license I'm taking within the context of the story, like Leliana trying to become a Grey Warden but getting shot down, the blood magic ritual in Honnleath, the running joke in this chapter with the elven warden becoming king of the dwarves, etc. My goal is to bring some new twists to the story _without_ crossing over into AU (so no, Alim will _not_ be the next King of Orzammar -lol-). Anyway, I'm not at all trying to hassle anyone to review (big personal pet peeve of mine is authors constantly begging for reviews), but since I haven't gotten any feedback about the last couple of chapters I'm honestly not real sure how well my ideas are working out. Especially since when I started writing this story I only had what turned out to be the first two chapters in mind, and I don't know if you guys think chapters 3 and on feel kind of tacked on (should I have ended the story after chapter 2?), if I'm going in the wrong direction, etc. **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: ****Thanks to everyone that gave feedback, it definitely helped me see that I'm on the right track with this. **I made an edit to the last chapter based on Imperator Valentine's review. I'd originally had Alim unable to cast spells at all in his unarmed confrontation, thinking in terms of the descriptions on some of the mage stalves and Spellweaver talking about them being a focus for a mage's magic energy. After thinking about it more, I realized I misinterpreted what that meant, and that it really was referring to the firing of energy bolts and not general spell casting. So I went back and slightly revised that part as a result. I should also mention that in general I do tend to make minor tweaks to chapters even after they've been posted, up until the story is complete. So if you ever re-read an earlier chapter and think that you didn't remember something being there before, or that it read slightly differently before, you're probably right :-)

* * *

As consciousness began to return, the first sensation that filtered into the elven warden's awareness was pain – the kind of pervasive pain that seems to permeate even into the bones. Everything hurt. Alim groaned lightly, causing the sleeping female nestled up against him to stir slightly but not waken. He opened his eyes to see the dying embers in the fireplace casting shadows throughout the dimly lit room, and realized that he was in bed in his room at the inn. His thoughts immediately went back to his last conscious memories. The worried expressions etched on his companions' faces while Wynne worked her magic on him, him trying to explain what happened but his mouth not cooperating. Reliving the assault, feelings of embarrassment and anger washed over him as he thought about getting pummeled in the alley next to _Tapster's_. After several minutes, he slowly and carefully slid out from under the arm draped across his chest, laying it down gently on his pillow as to not disturb his partner's sleep, the whole time biting down hard on his bottom lip to keep the urge to vocalize his discomfort in check.

He staggered slightly into the bathroom, not bothering with the light as he went to the wash basin and splashed cold water on his face. The elf chuckled sardonically to himself, he could _feel_ the swelling in his face, and his mood was rapidly shifting to match how he knew he must look – bad. Taking a deep breath, he crept quietly past the bed and retrieved a fresh set of undergarments from his equipment pack. After changing into them, he painstakingly slipped his armor on as quietly as he could. He didn't know where his staff was, but he saw _Spellweaver _lying in its hilt where he left it. Picking it up, he took one more glance back at the bed. Satisfied that she was still asleep, Alim slowly turned the knob to open the door, passing through before quietly closing it behind him. He exhaled softly, strapping his sword on in the hall before making his way to the front door of the inn and out on to the streets of the Orzammar Commons.

-==0==-

Morrigan was in an especially foul mood after having been up all night tracking down Alim's assailants, only to arrive back at the inn and find that the warden had gone missing again. Even more infuriating was that no one, not even the bard, was aware of it, because they had all still been asleep. At least they had been until the witch started banging on doors. It wasn't like it was particularly early. If they were traveling they'd already have broken camp and been on the road by now. It'd been a couple of hours since she, Zevran, Scorch, and Shale had returned to the inn, and the party was gathered in Alistair's room while they tried to figure out their course of action.

"That fool had better be dead, otherwise I shall kill him myself!" exclaimed Morrigan, seething.

"Awww… and here I thought that term of endearment was reserved only for me," replied Alistair, his tone practically dripping with sarcasm.

Morrigan scoffed. "Fear not, you are still _The _Fool, your fellow warden is merely _a _fool."

"I love you too," Alistair declared, mock sniffling and wiping a fake tear from his eye. Morrigan simply glared at him in response.

"Are you two quite done?" asked Leliana irritably. "This is not helping."

Morrigan's head snapped in the bard's direction. "Do _not_ take that tone with me. You had one task, _one_! To simply watch after him! And you couldn't even accomplish that!" The vitriol in her voice was clear.

"I told you, I did not hear him get up! Even if I _did_ sleep heavier than usual, he must have been trying not to be heard."

"No doubt your lack of awareness was a result of your debauchery… should I point out that it was this irresponsibility that led to the current situation?"

Leliana shook her head. "Morrigan, that had nothing to do with it."

"Really? Are you to say that the warden would have been caught alone and jumped had he been here at the inn where he _should_ have been?" Alistair nodded solemnly in agreement with the witch's assessment. He'd been shocked at first at finding out what all had transpired while he slept, and wasn't happy with the crew that'd gone out the night before.

"Stop!" Wynne exclaimed. "Leliana, Morrigan is right in that it was highly irresponsible to engage in that sort of drunkenness. I told you I disapproved before you even went out last night. And it clearly led to more than one bad decision. Morrigan, Leliana is right in that it does us no good to argue about it right now."

Zevran, sitting in a chair off to the side, sighed wearily. "Is there a plan here? If we are going to wait and see if he comes back, I'm going to bed."

Leliana nodded. "Zev, Morrigan, you two get some sleep. Whoever wishes to come with me is welcome to help look."

"I will sleep when this is resolved," replied Morrigan firmly.

-==0==-

"Oh, miss?" the woman at the front desk of the inn called out as Leliana, Morrigan, Alistair, Wynne, and Scorch walked by towards the exit. "Did you find the Grey Warden?"

Leliana looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"The warden? You asked about him earlier. I was just making sure that you had seen him since he got back."

"He came back? When?"

The dwarf working at the front desk shrugged. "Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes ago? He took a plate of food from the complementary buffet," she explained, gesturing to the tables of breakfast foodstuffs laid out, "and after that he went towards the back. I presumed he was going to his room."

Alistair laughed. "Of course, we get all worked up about him being off by himself while he kicks back relaxing in his room."

-==0==-

Taking a deep, calming breath, Leliana turned the knob and pushed the door open to her room. Sitting in an easy chair with his head tilted back and a plate of half eaten breakfast in his lap was Alim. His mouth hung open and he was obviously asleep. As irritated as she was with him, Leliana couldn't help the grin that formed at the sight. She shook her head slightly at the thought of just how powerful an influence the man had over her emotions without him even realizing it.

"Warden!" a voice exclaimed sharply from behind Leliana, causing Alim to jerk awake in surprise and the plate in his lap to dump on to the floor. Morrigan pushed her way past the bard, coming to a stop several feet in front of the elf and crossing her arms over her chest. Scorch went straight for the food, helping himself to the spill.

Alim looked at his friends with a bemused expression. "Ummm… hey?"

"Where did you go?"

Alim stood up, rubbing his hand wearily across his face. He shrugged, saying, "Over to the Shaperate. I came up with a plan to get us out of being caught between Bhelen and Harrowmont."

Morrigan scowled at his nonchalance. "And _why_ after what happened last night did you go out _alone_?"

Exhaling audibly, he replied, "I am _not_ a child, Morrigan."

"Then perhaps you should stop behaving like one!"

"I am capable of taking care of myself!"

"Is that what you were doing last night when you were nearly beaten to death? Taking care of yourself?"

Alistair sighed. "Alim, I think her point is that you need to be more careful. We're an important part of something much bigger than us, and we can't take unnecessary risks. You can't go off by yourself without any of us knowing about it."

Alim's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. "Very well. Mother, Father, I will be sure to ask for a permission note next time. And also make sure there is someone to hold my hand while I cross the street."

The reactions from his companions were varying in degrees of negative. Alistair rolled his eyes, while Leliana and Wynne mirrored each other in resting their foreheads in their hands. "Alim…" began Leliana, but before she could say anything else, Morrigan stepped forward and smacked the elven warden hard, leaving behind an angry red welt on his already swollen cheek. Her amber eyes burned in fury at the young man.

"Morrigan!" exclaimed Leliana in shock.

Alim's expression bore an equal amount of surprise at first, but quickly turned dark as his own anger flared. "Get out!" he hissed.

"Alim…" Leliana said again.

The elf shook his head angrily. "I am going back to sleep. _Everyone_, get _out_!"

Morrigan looked like she had more to say, but merely spun on her heels and stormed out of the room. As Alistair and Wynne slowly filed out behind her, Leliana bent over and whispered to Scorch, "You stay here and rest with him. He is _not_ to leave this room without you." Scorch barked in the affirmative. Nodding, Leliana stood up and grabbed her equipment pack before leaving without another word. She didn't know if she was supposed to be included in _everyone_, but she was aggravated enough with him that she didn't care to stick around and find out.

-==0==-

Six hours later, Leliana acquiesced to her desire to talk to Alim and quietly went back into the room. Her first reaction though was one of stunned disbelief, as Alim was nowhere to be seen. She practically growled at the Mabari lying at the foot of the bed, "_Where_ is he?"

Scorch barked in response. Leliana nodded, her heart rate coming back down as quickly as it had spiked. Dropping her pack, she strode to the open doorway of the bathroom, leaning up against the doorframe. Alim was lying back with his eyes closed in a tub of steaming hot water up to his neck. Having heard what Leliana said to the warhound and the slight creaking of the wooden doorframe, he knew she was standing close by. Without opening his eyes, he sarcastically remarked, "No, I did not go anywhere."

Leliana frowned. "What is with this attitude?"

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked in mock innocence, "I am your prisoner, am I not?"

"You think that, yes?"

"All I know is that I am no longer allowed to be alone or to do anything by myself. What else would you call it?"

"And you think it's different for Alistair?"

Alim hesitated, looking over at the redhead in the doorway. "What do you mean?"

"Do you feel we treat you differently, that there are rules that apply only to you?"

"I… do not hear Alistair getting lectured like I do, nor do I see him being smacked in the face."

Leliana walked over at sat down on the edge of the tub. In a more gentle tone, she offered, "Alistair understands. He does not put himself in these situations, because he knows that like it or not, you and he are the two most important men in all of Ferelden right now. We've had this discussion before, no? I don't blame you for last night the way some of the others do, but I _do_ agree it was terribly foolish to get up and leave this morning without telling anyone. And yes, I was upset at you for it too. You know I would have gone with you to wherever it was you were going. As for Morrigan slapping you… I cannot say you didn't deserve it."

"I only went over to the Diamond quarter to talk to the Shaper of Memories, hardly the bad part of town. Besides, there are guards everywhere in that district. There were probably twice as many on the streets this morning as there were yesterday when we were there. It was perfectly safe!"

Leliana shook her head in disbelief. "You think the presence of guards would stop someone determined to harm you? Guards that might even turn a blind eye rather than risking themselves to aid a surfacer? Or even aid your attackers because they work for someone who wants you eliminated? How many dwarves have we heard say that they do not care what goes on up on the surface? You think one of them carrying a grudge is going to worry that killing you could have dire consequences for the surface world?"

"I am sorry, alright?" Alim exclaimed in frustration. "I get it. I have to take a chaperone if I want to go somewhere. It will not be a problem going forward, okay?"

"You really _are_ being childish about this! No, it is not _okay_. You say you understand, but you do not! Alim, you and Alistair are the only two in all of Ferelden that can kill the archdemon and stop the Blight. You know this! I would willingly lay down my life to protect you not just because I love you, but because you are _that_ important. The rest of our companions would do the same if necessary. And that you have so little appreciation for that commitment that you refuse to accept even a reasonable amount of precautions without acting unfairly burdened is infuriating! No, it is more than that I think… it is that you are so afraid your friends think you are weak that you do not even recognize the necessity of such precautions, and you do not care if you get yourself killed trying to prove otherwise."

The defiance in the elf's eyes was extinguished by Leliana's last statement. He felt as if she'd cut right through the façade he wore all the way into his inner being. "Wh-what?"

The observant bard immediately noticed the change. His expression as a whole still held the bitterness he'd been pushing back with, but the fire was gone from his eyes. It had been a calculated guess, one she'd put together not just from today but other actions in the past, but one she now knew to be right. "That is it, yes? You think these precautions are because we see you as weak and incapable, and that is why you protest."

Alim shook his head. "You are just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks."

"Even if that was true, which it is not, I believe this has _stuck_ as you put it, yes?"

Alim didn't answer, refusing to give voice to his fears.

"Allow me to answer then," Leliana began. "You are so determined to prove your strength that you do not stop to ask yourself if anyone even questions it. You assume we do, and you are _wrong_ to do so."

"Then why do I feel singled out all the time? After a battle, _I_ am the one that always gets asked if they are alright. When we travel, it is expected that _I _am the one that needs to stop for rest. Why should I not believe I am simply being coddled like a child?"

"We all check on each other after battles, it is not only you," she countered. Smirking, she added, "And right now you are trying my patience like a child."

Alim started to retort, but paused. After a few second pause he noted, "I seem to be getting that reaction a lot lately."

"Which should tell you something, yes?" The elven warden sighed deeply before reluctantly nodding in response.

"Do you believe what I am saying? That this is all because of the big picture and not because we think you are incapable?"

"It is… hard…" he admitted. "But... I trust you. If you say it is so… I am willing to consider that I may have been misinterpreting things."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Besides," Alim continued, "I suppose I should answer 'yes' if I want to avoid getting pounded again."

Leliana giggled lightly, shaking her head. "You know I will know if you are lying to me. You are an easy read for me, more like a fluffy romance story than a mysterious tome of arcane knowledge. But truthfully, if I had done as much for you as Morrigan did and you spoke to me the way you did her, I would have been sorely tempted to hit you too."

Alim raised an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean? What did Morrigan do?"

"Remember what I said before about the presence of guards not being the safety you thought it was? That was not a hypothetical situation." In bardic fashion, Leliana began to retell the story as it had been related to her by Zevran.

-==0==-

_The night had been long, though longer for some than others. Zev had sobered up well enough after being roped into going along with Morrigan, Shale, and Scorch, even though what he had really wanted to do was go to bed. It wasn't a lack of concern on his part, he just didn't see the practical value in rushing out into the night in pursuit of Alim's attackers. After all, as the saying went, revenge was a dish best served cold. But the witch had made it clear that she wasn't asking him if he wanted to go along, so here he was. _

_They started out by discovering the body of the dwarf Leliana had killed was already gone. From there they went and asked around in Tapster's if anyone knew anything about the attackers, with Morrigan pointedly making it known that Lord Harrowmont's assassination attempt on the Grey Warden had failed. If she couldn't get to Harrowmont physically, she'd get to him politically. Tapster's didn't turn up any leads, so they proceeded from there into Dust Town, the realm of the casteless where the attackers were last seen heading. Shale had suggested that it sounded typical of nobility to hire disposable heroes to do their dirty work, and that finding someone willing to give them up among their fellow casteless would likely require a bribe. Zev pointed out that while only having a brief look at the warden's assailants, he didn't remember any of them having the facial markings of the casteless. As a so-called "painted elf" himself, Zev tended to notice things like that immediately._

_After a couple of hours in Dust Town and a skirmish with a group of thugs belonging to some Carta run by a casteless named Jarvia, they caught a break in finding a dwarf standing around idly that was willing to talk for a few silver. The dwarf told them that he'd seen the group of a half dozen armed dwarves go running by earlier. He didn't know who they were, but he was very confident that those dwarves were not from Dust Town. Their gear was too nice, they weren't casteless, and he said that he'd seen them circle back around and leave the district not too long after they'd arrived._

_The group left Dust Town and walked the couple of miles over to the other side of the Commons where the entrance to the Deep Roads was, poking around in a few working class neighborhoods along the way. Scorch still hadn't picked up on the trail, and Zev was close to suggesting they call off the search for the night. By his estimate it was six or seven o'clock in the morning. He groaned slightly when Morrigan declared they were going to make a pass through the Diamond quarter, thinking it to be a complete waste of time at the moment. However, they hadn't gotten very far into the noble district when Scorch started growling. _

"_Are you sure, dog?" asked Morrigan sharply, her own patience long since gone but her stubbornness pushing her on anyway._

_Scorch barked once in the affirmative, and that was good enough for the witch to take her staff off of her back and nod intently at the assassin and the golem. A short distance away, in front of Harrowmont's estate, a large group of people were carrying on in good spirits. Several of the dwarves wore heavy plate armor that identified them as guards for House Harrowmont, while the others wore nice but non-descript leathers, scale armor, and chainmail. Judging from the camaraderie, these others were at least very familiar to the guards._

"_Wait," said Zev. "They have not seen us yet. Stay out of sight, let me work the shadows to get close and listen in on the conversation. The info could be valuable."_

_Morrigan nodded. "You are right. Very well, see what you can find out. Do not linger longer than necessary."_

_Blending into the night, Zev carefully made his way over to the side of Lord Harrowmont's estate. Eavesdropping, it quickly became apparent that Alim's attackers were members of Harrowmont's personal guard. It didn't sound like Harrowmont himself had necessarily ordered it, but it was unclear if someone else close to Lord Harrowmont had put them up to it. Perhaps his assistant, who had been quite unhappy when the wardens advised him they wouldn't help his lord gain political leverage over Bhelen by fighting for Harrowmont's side in the upcoming Proving. It could also have been the guards organizing and acting on their own, either out of simple loyalty or self-preservation - fearing what would happen if Harrowmont lost the election. But in any case, Zev was able to confirm that the attack was carried out by off duty, out of uniform guards that worked for Harrowmont. _

_After quietly but quickly casing the surroundings, Zev slipped back through the shadows to his companions and filled them in on what he'd found out. Including the six that had attacked Alim, there were ten guards total out in front, and four more around the back of the estate. The confirmation only raised Morrigan's ire further. _

"_Go back in close and catch them off guard with a couple of freeze bombs. No doubt our attack will raise the alarm, so we will need to be efficient. Let's go."_

-==0==-

_Joking around and feeling good about themselves, the unaware guards didn't even hear the pair of freeze bombs hit the ground at their feet until they went off. As soon as the screams began, Morrigan fired a chain lightning spell that tore through one guard after another, eliciting more screams. She ran forward, and just as a trio of guards took steps towards her, she blasted them with a cone of cold that froze them in place. _

_Sure enough, the guards from around back of the estate came running to investigate. Zevran tossed an acid flask, creating an explosion that they ran right into. Shale and Scorch passed by on either side Morrigan, joining the fray. The golem began pounding on the frozen foes, attempting to shatter them, while the hound launched himself into the guard that had the strongest familiar scent, knocking him down and beginning to viciously shred him. Two guards charged at Morrigan, who muttered a few quick words and shapeshifted into giant spider, much to the terror of the approaching dwarven men. She didn't give them a chance to contemplate the abrupt change in circumstance, leaping forward and coming down hard on the dwarf closest to her, her poison pincers piercing the off duty guard's leather armor, plunging deeply into his chest. The guard immediately began convulsing as the poison worked its way through his bloodstream, collapsing moments later when his heart stopped. _

_Morrigan cringed at feeling the other nearby guard's sword pierce the underbody of her spider form, screeching at the pain while turning her attention to her attacker. She engaged in a deadly dance with the red-bearded dwarf, who was a talented warrior and easily held his own against his larger opponent, even managing to inflict additional wounds. The witch was getting very frustrated trying to find an opening, and her injuries were beginning to take their toll. Finally, Zev slipped in behind the guard and backstabbed him with his dagger coated in a soldier's bane poison. The sneak attack only dropped the guard's defenses momentarily, but a moment was all Morrigan needed. In the blink of an eye she overwhelmed the guard and tore into him, ripping at all of the exposed flesh she could get at around his scale armor. She felt a grim satisfaction at giving the dwarf such an excruciating death._

_Zev continued dancing his own graceful waltz of death, backstabbing his way from partner to partner in support of his companions' frontal attacks, mixing in the occasional whirlwind spinning attack and dual weapon sweeps against multiple enemies. Scorch was a firebrand in his own right, shrugging off blades, fists, and kicks with complete disregard for his own health, his single minded focus on their foes. He was covered in more dwarven blood than mabari blood, much of it sprayed from the jugular of one of his first kills. _

_Shale was methodically working through the on duty guards, smashing and crushing their heavy dwarven plate armor. A few tried to gang up on the golem and succeeded in inflicting minor damage with their coordinated attacks, but they were little more than a nuisance in comparison to the damage Shale was dealing. The large stone golem snatched the dwarf in front of him off the ground, and after crushing its head in its helm, hurled the body through the air. With a loud crash it collided into the front door to Harrowmont's estate. A minute later, another guard followed suit in becoming an impromptu projectile aimed at knocking down the front door, though this one didn't actually die until his head made contact with the thick wooden doors. _

_Morrigan shapeshifted back to her human form, gasping in pain as she grasped her stomach, feeling her own warm, sticky blood coating her fingers and hand. She hurriedly cast a heal spell on herself, then backed away from the fray long enough to drain a lyrium potion and then heal Scorch, who was still gamely fighting but slowing down from his injuries. Rejuvenated, the hound overwhelmed one of the two remaining guards and shredded him, while Zev and Shale finished off the last dwarf. The witch and the assassin quietly surveyed the carnage. All total, fifteen of Harrowmont's guards lie dead in front of his estate. Zev knocked back a health poultice, exhaling audibly in weariness even after finishing it. Reaching into her pack, Morrigan knelt down next to the hound and fed him a pair of double-baked Mabari crunch treats as a reward, rubbing him on top of the head briefly in silent praise for his efforts. All the while she kept her eyes on Harrowmont's front door, waiting to see if it would open and others would come out._

"_We are done here," the witch said matter-of-factly while standing up, saying nothing further as she began marching towards the gate joining the Diamond quarter and the Commons in order to return to the inn. _

-==0==-

Alim had gotten out of the tub while listening to Leliana's spellbinding story, dressing for comfort in an understated long sleeved gray shirt and black cotton pants. He shook his head over and over in astonishment at what he'd slept through. When the bard finished, she smiled at him knowingly, that from his expressions and body language during the story he now understood how horribly he'd treated Morrigan, and by extension, the others.

"No wonder she was so angry with me…"

"Yes, she had been up all night doing that, and then after getting back and cleaning up, she came to check on you and found you were gone. Morrigan let me have it as well for not waking up. I was still asleep when she knocked on the door."

"I must have just missed them, leaving in the time between when they got back and she came to our room." Suddenly he realized something else. "All of those extra guards this morning!" he exclaimed, his eyes opening wide, "That was a result of the fighting outside Harrowmont's place!"

"Most likely. And you walked right into that hornet's nest without a second thought."

"Ugh… I am an idiot…"

Leliana shook her head, smiling gently. "Stubborn as an old mule maybe, but not an idiot. It's a good trait most of the time. You just have to not let it get the best of you."

"I… you are right… sorry. But what I do not understand is what set Morrigan off like that? I mean the whole thing, her insisting on tracking down my attackers, and then being more upset than anyone that I had left this morning. Why did it matter so much to her?"

Careful to keep her expression neutral, Leliana replied, "I have my suspicions, but it is not my place to say anything."

"What do you mean?" Alim asked curiously.

"I _mean_ you will need to ask her yourself when you apologize, which you are going to do right now, yes?"

Alim hung his head. "Yes, ma'am…" he answered in resignation. His reaction wasn't born from an unwillingness to apologize, he had no problem doing that. It had more to do with feeling like he'd let the others down again. It bothered him to realize his companions were right to be disappointed in him. "I am going to talk to the others after Morrigan, so I might be awhile."

Smiling, Leliana wordlessly hugged her warden, kissing him lightly on the cheek before sending him on his way.


	7. Chapter 7

A knock at the door brought a scowl to the face of the raven haired witch. She had been deep in concentration, deciphering more passages from Flemeth's grimoire, and the interruption was unwelcome. "What is it?" she called out curtly, not bothering to rise from the chair she was curled up in. She could make out enough of the muffled reply to figure out who it was, and sighing she got up and answered the door.

"What is it?" she asked again in an uncompromising tone.

"May I come in?" In contrast, his vocal tone was soft and contrite.

"Is this important? I am reading at the moment."

Alim sighed lightly. "I wish to talk."

Morrigan regarded his expression carefully. "Are you here of your own accord, or hers?"

"My own, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Mostly."

"I see. And what is it you wish to talk about?" She still made no move to let the warden into her room.

Alim stuffed his hands into his pockets, fidgeting in place uncomfortably at the witch's icy gaze. "My behavior this morning."

"Oh? And just what would you say about it? Are you here to protest your innocence?"

"Morrigan, may I come in, please?" The female mage didn't respond immediately, as if considering the request. "Please?" Alim asked again.

Morrigan's expression softened slightly. "Very well," she relented, stepping to the side so he could enter. She closed the door behind him before turning to face the elf.

"I invited you into my _room_, Warden, not my _bed_," she said sarcastically, smirking at the sight of him sitting on the edge of the bed.

Alim blushed slightly at the inference, quickly standing back up. "S-sorry…" _"She is not making this easy,"_ he thought.

Even in her mood, Morrigan couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. She waved her hand dismissively before crossing her arms over her chest and staring intently at the elf.

Alim cleared his throat. "I… wanted to apologize for earlier. Even though at the time I did not know what you'd done for me, I still should not have behaved so poorly. I… thought… I mean, I interpreted what you said… I thought your point was that I am weak, incapable of taking care of myself. I did not stop to consider that I was making genuinely bad decisions that affected more than just myself."

"You behaved like a child because you thought you were being treated as such? That is a most curious choice."

Shaking his head, Alim softly replied, "That is not how I would describe it, but I do not begrudge you that assessment. I… this is… hard for me to talk about… I…" He paused for a full minute before continuing, "I... m-more than anything, _hate _the thought that my friends see me as feeble, in constant need of their protection. When I think that is happening, like earlier, I become obstinate about proving everyone wrong, about showing that I _am_ capable."

"And you think that is how I see you, incapable?"

"It is not just you, Morrigan. I think… I think it goes back to early in our adventures. I know my lack of stamina was a liability at times… that I struggled to keep up. Neither my physical stature nor my upbringing prepared me for the physical demands of our journey, something you or Sten pointed out on multiple occasions, sometimes rather harshly. I have worked very hard to overcome that, but sometimes I think you all still see me as that way. It has been pointed out to me though… that perhaps I… misinterpret what is meant, and take personal offense where none was intended."

Morrigan sighed, the last of her anger draining from her features. "Warden, I would venture that Flemeth was the most powerful mage in Ferelden, perhaps all of Thedas. I would not have even asked you to attempt to kill her if I did not think you were capable of doing so. For all of my talents, you are more powerful still. Alim… I gripe at you because I fear the consequences for Ferelden if you are lost. And… truth be told, I do not wish to lose you either."

Alim raised an eyebrow quizzically at the witch's last statement. Misreading his expression, she huffed slightly. "Is it so hard for you to believe that I care about you beyond your necessity to end the Blight?"

"You… care for me?"

Morrigan chuckled lightly. "I do not wish to share a bedroll with you like the bard if that is what you are thinking. Do you remember what you told me when you gave me the silver brooch you bought from the Dalish, and I could not believe you were simply giving it to me with no strings attached?"

The elven warden nodded. "I told you that I considered you a friend, and that a friend does not require something in return for helping or doing something nice for a friend."

"Yes, a friend… I have never had a friend before. All the times you gave me gifts, or continued making me feel not just needed, but wanted, even when I was not nice, or killing Flemeth to protect me… I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for your ulterior motive to come into the light. And when it never came, I finally began to understand what this _friendship_ really was. And instead of thinking it a weakness, I found it… _agreeable_, much to my surprise. So, yes, I care for you, and being the only friend I've ever had perhaps causes me to be rather protective of you."

Alim closed the gap between him and the witch and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Morrigan. I am sorry for causing you to go to extraordinary lengths on my behalf, but it means a lot to me that you did."

"Oh, let's not get all mushy about it, _please_," she implored, shifting uncomfortably. "'Tis what friends do, is it not? Let's leave it at that."

Chuckling, Alim released her from the embrace. "Very well, _friend_," he replied, grinning.

-==0==-

After an hour and a half of talking to everyone one-on-one, Alim returned to his room. It'd been mentally strenuous having that many heartfelt conversations back to back. The elf was much more comfortable listening to others and letting them confide in him than he was sharing his own personal issues, but he was still somewhat surprised that after talking to Morrigan it didn't get any easier having similar conversations with his other companions. He exhaled audibly in relief as he closed the door to his room and leaned back against it with his eyes closed.

"That bad?" asked Leliana, her tone laced with mirth.

"Not that… just… taxing. You know it isn't easy for me to open up about my feelings, yet I forced myself to do that with all of our companions." Alim opened his eyes, for the first time noticing the bard was sitting cross-legged on the bed with one of his drakeskin boots in her hands. His eyes unconsciously alternated between his bare feet and the redhead on the bed. "Something wrong with my boots?" he asked, puzzled at what she was doing.

"Not at all, my love. In fact, I am just finishing up."

"Was there something wrong with them previously?"

Hopping from the bed, Leliana tossed the boot to Alim. "I have a gift for you."

Alim resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment about her re-gifting his own boots to him, waiting to see what she did next. The bard pulled back a folded edge of the comforter on top of the bed to reveal a very sharp looking weapon.

"A… stubby dagger?"

Leliana laughed. "Something like that. I had one of my old daggers, _Thorn of the Dead Gods_, reworked by a smith here. The blade length has been reduced by a third, and the hilt shortened and contoured to fit your hand better. It is now more of a hybrid weapon. You can look at it either as a long knife or a short dagger. The smith I took it to was capable of folding lyrium and working with runes, so I had him fold in a _grandmaster paralyze_ rune. Whoever you poke with this thing stands a good chance of being stunned long enough for you to get away, if necessary."

The elven warden nodded, still eyeing her curiously. "And the boot?"

"That is my finishing touch. I had a new sheath made for the blade, and had it done such that I could sew it into the side of your boot." She took the dagger and demonstrated the boot sheath. "See this little strap? All you have to do is unsnap it and the blade slides right out without any resistance. Yet, the blade also fits snugly so it won't move around while you walk. I had a second sheath made as well in case there are times you wish to carry it on your belt instead."

Turning the polished steel dagger over in his hands, the elf noted that the blade still retained its distinctive wavey appearance, just stunted from three curves to two and re-tapered to match the new length. The guard between the hilt and blade had also been narrowed slightly. The hilt had been shortened such that the gap between the guard and the pommel was only a couple of inches longer than the width of the elf's grip, and had been rewrapped in leather cord dyed midnight green. The dagger felt very balanced and easy to handle, even for a non-rogue such as himself. "This is very nice, thank you," Alim replied softly, "but I am guessing there is a purpose here other than a simple gift?"

Smiling gently, Leliana took the dagger from his hands and set it aside before wrapping him up in an embrace. "_Vigilance_, my dearest one. Wherever you are, may it always be close at hand." She squeezed the warden tighter and kissed him on top of the head.

"_No more repeats of last night, getting caught unarmed,"_ he thought solemnly to himself. "It is a wonderful gift, Lel, thank you," he replied, kissing her along her collarbone. "If it is alright with you, I think I will rename the blade _Vigilance_, a name to always remind me why I carry it. Besides, it is not really a _Thorn of the Dead Gods_ anymore."

"A perfect name," she agreed, then quietly added, "Thank you for indulging my overprotectiveness." Alim smirked slightly at her admission of being overprotective, but decided not to spoil the moment by calling her on it.

-==0==-

Entering the reception area of the inn with Leliana and Scorch at either side, Alim stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. Ten minutes earlier, one of the staff had come back to their room to inform them a visitor wanted to speak with the warden. They arrived to find an agitated dwarf in beat up heavy plate armor pacing back and forth talking to himself. "You needed something?" Alim asked. His tone was a bit edgier than usual, recognizing the dwarf standing in front of him. The warden didn't remember the guy's name, but he remembered the unpleasant conversation with him in _Tapster's_ the previous day. It was the husband of the missing paragon, Branka, apparently the only one of her noble house that she left behind when she departed for the Deep Roads two years earlier. And from what Alim had heard others say in his brief time in Orzammar, the guy had quite the reputation as a drunk as well, which for a dwarf was saying something.

"About sodding time, Warden! I've been waiting for awhile now," the dwarf declared gruffly. His eyes roamed over Leliana and then back to Alim, and then he grinned. "Oh, wait… were you two, like… you know… back there?"

Leliana rolled her eyes, while Alim pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Did you need something? I seem to recall your last words to me yesterday were to _'sod off'_ as you put it."

The dwarf chuckled nervously. "Yeah, well, don't mind that. Had a few too many pints in me, or… maybe I hadn't had enough yet, I don't remember now. Anyway, I hear you're going after Branka."

The elven warden nodded. "Seems like she is the best bet to end the deadlock in the Assembly. How did _you_ find out about it?"

"Sodding right she's the best! Orzammar doesn't need a king, it needs its paragon! Anyway, you can't fart in Orzammar without someone catching wind of it, if you know what I mean. Word on the street is you've got Bhelen and Harrowmont both in a tizzy. They've each been sending out small excursions into the Deep Roads, hoping to be the one to land their grubby mitts on her to sway the vote, but not getting sodding anywhere because their squads spend more time fighting each other out there than searching!"

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"No one can go into the Deep Roads without a noble patron. Bhelen and Harrowmont counted on you not being able to go out there without agreeing to work for one of them. If you _did_ find Branka, the one whose pocket you were in would be a lock to become king. But then you went right around those bastards and got the sodding Shaper himself to sponsor you! So now they both have their knickers in a twist that you're going after Branka and there's not a sodding thing they can do about it. Neither one of them will be able to use her to gain the throne."

Alim sighed. "So am I to expect being attacked by Bhelen's supporters as well now?"

"Who cares? They'll just get slaughtered like Harrowmont's boys did, right?"

Leliana shook her head in disgust. "You still have not told us why you are here."

"A woman that cuts to the chase, I _like_ it!" the dwarf replied, chortling. Turning back to Alim, he remarked, "I'll bet she's a real firebrand between the sheets, am I right?"

"Look… dwarf…" began Alim, his patience running out.

"Dwarf? The name's Oghren. Anyway, cut to the chase, right. I want to go with you to find Branka."

Alim raised an eyebrow quizzically, causing Oghren to scowl. "Hey, I'm not saying I should be your first pick for a dance partner at the inaugural ball, but in the Deep Roads, _I'm_ your man. Besides, I know Branka better than anyone, I'm her sodding husband! I know where she was going and what she was going after."

"Can you even fight? You smell like a brewery!" exclaimed the elven warden.

"Hey! I'm so tough they don't even allow me to carry weapons within the city!"

Leliana smirked. "Because you murdered a man while drunk, yes?"

Oghren frowned. "Uhhh… you heard about that, eh?"

"Don't I have enough armed lunatics following me?" Alim asked sarcastically.

"Perfect! What's one more?"

Alim waved his hand dismissively. "You have much work to do to prove yourself not just to me, but to my companions. But our goals are compatible and I will not turn down an extra sword, or axe, or whatever you wield. Speaking of which, do we need to retrieve your weapon from somewhere since you are not allowed to carry it within the city?"

Scowling again, Oghren answered, "_No_, I won't get stopped if I'm with you."

"Very well… get what you need for the journey and be back here before two hours are up. I will procure a room for you to stay the night in."

"I've got a sodding house, Warden, I don't need to stay here."

Alim's expression was uncompromising. "We are leaving early in the morning and I want you here and ready to go with the rest of us. And I do not want you staying out late drinking tonight. I want you well-rested and of clear mind."

"What? I fight better when I've had a few pints anyway!"

"Those are my terms, you can take or leave them."

Oghren grunted. "By the tits of my ancestors, Warden, you need to loosen up!" Seeing the elf's steady gaze not faltering, he finally relented. "Fine… I'll go get my gear." He turned and stalked out of the inn, muttering under his breath the whole way.

Leliana turned to the warden, grinning mischievously. "Bet you a sovereign we will be no more than half an hour into the Deep Roads before Morrigan threatens to kill him."

Alim laughed. "I was thinking an hour, but you could be right."

"We have a bet then, yes?"

"Sure, why not? Come on, _Firebrand_, let's go back and tell the others about Oghren." The pair laughed easily together as they walked back with Scorch towards the rooms.

-==0==-

"Well, _that_ was fun…" offered Alistair sarcastically, waving his longsword at the half dozen dead dwarven thugs on the ground around them. The party had barely gone a quarter mile into the Deep Roads before running into a group of thugs sent to keep them from their quest for Branka. It was unclear which patron they worked for, though it mattered little at the moment.

Morrigan, who had been knocked down shortly before the end of the fighting, sat up and rested her forearms across her knees. "It seems we will have more than darkspawn to deal with."

"We should take no chances," added Sten, agreeing with the witch, "Anyone we come across should be viewed as an enemy until they prove otherwise."

Oghren squatted behind Morrigan, wrapping his big arms around her midsection and yanking her to her feet. Morrigan yelped at the unexpected contact, and at the dwarf's hands lingering for too long near her breasts. "Lay one hand on me again, dwarf, and it will be your last!"

"Huh. You sound just like Branka."

"Then I must commend her good sense. But I will not tell you again, touch me no more."

Leliana smirked at Alim, holding out her hand. "Twenty-three minutes, my dear, I win."

Alim shook his head incredulously. "You cannot possibly know the exact time like that!"

"Now, now, being a sore loser is unbecoming. Pay up."

Groaning, Alim reached into his pack and produced a single sovereign, making a production out of dropping it into her outstretched hand. "You probably put her up to it," he said, mock sulking.

"What are you two carrying on about?" asked Alistair curiously.

The elven warden gestured to the bard. "She bet me Oghren would not make it thirty minutes before doing or saying something to make Morrigan threaten his life."

"And you took that fool's bet?" asked Zev, chuckling. "My opinion of your intelligence is dropping, my friend."

Alim scowled playfully. "In my defense, I only gave it an hour. Still, I concede your point."

"Bah, can't blame a man for trying to help himself to a little sample when the goods are practically sitting right out in the open," replied Oghren, shrugging his shoulders as if to say he didn't get what the big deal was.

Zev laughed. "You've got a lot to learn about women."

Oghren looked curiously at the elf. "Huh. I doubt you've got anything to worry about. You got small breasts for a gal."

Zev shook his head, while Alim, Alistair, and Leliana cracked up. A wry grin even formed on Sten's face. Walking away, Morrigan offered a parting shot, "Remember, dwarf, just because the warden tolerates your presence does not mean we all do."

"Rowwwll!" laughed Oghren in response.

As the others moved on ahead, Alim fell in step with Oghren at the back of the line. "Hey," he began, "just a word of advice, do not taunt Morrigan. She has little patience, and even less hesitance to fight back. You might think what you're doing is all in fun, but she is likely to do nasty things to you if you get her all riled up."

"Nasty things when riled up, eh? What are you, some kind of nug humper? Sounds like the perfect woman to me!"

"Errr… not _those_ kinds of nasty things. I mean dismemberment, turning you into some kind of swamp creature, slowly rotting your skin off, that type of nasty thing."

"Huh. I see what you mean. Well, what about Firebush up there?"

"Wh-who?"

"The bard! I bet _I _could make her sing, if you know what I mean."

Alim bristled at the inference. "She is spoken for, and you would be wise to remember that."

"So am I," replied the dwarf. "I won't tell if she won't."

"She is with _me_!" the warden hissed, adding darkly, "You harass her and I _swear_ I will make death by Morrigan seem merciful." Eavesdropping several meters ahead, Zev grinned, thinking to himself that he was going to have fun relating this little story to the bard.

"Fine, fine, you've marked your territory, Warden, no need to keep pissing."

-==0==-

The group ventured further and further into the Deep Roads, reaching areas that were for all intents and purposes lost to the dwarves for hundreds of years. Entering the area known as the Dead Trenches, the party approached a cliff edge that overhung a deep valley far below. Alim and Alistair kneeled down in front, taking in the sight of thousands of darkspawn on the march below them. Suddenly they heard an ear piercing shriek. Before they could figure out where it came from, a large black dragon soared from the depths and landed on a rock bridge not far from the party's location. It roared and spit blue flames down towards the darkspawn below, as if willing them onward, but fortunately didn't seem to be aware of the Grey Warden presence. Or if it was aware, it chose not to acknowledge it at this time. That the dragon was the archdemon was obvious to even the non-Grey Wardens present.

The pair of wardens both touched their fingers to their foreheads and temples, as if the close presence of the archdemon was affecting them. Leliana bent forward and grasped Alim's shoulder, reassuring him with her physical presence. Not knowing what else to do, Zev did the same thing for Alistair. It wasn't long before the archdemon roared again and flew off, and moments later the wardens stood back up.

Alistair sighed. "Well, it is official. This is a Blight."

"It'd be nice if we could take the archdemon out right here and end it," Alim grumbled.

"Are you crazy?" Alistair asked incredulously. "Fight it on its own turf with thousands of darkspawn at its back? With just the ten of us?"

"I did not say we should attempt it, I merely said it would be nice if we _could_. Obviously we cannot."

"It is just wishful thinking," Morrigan suggested. "Let's continue on with what we were doing."

-==0==-

"What a waste…" sighed Alim, holding a golden crown in his hands that had shortly before been forged by the former dwarven paragon turned golem, Caridin. Alim upheld his promise to Caridin to destroy the _Anvil of the Void_, siding with him over Branka, who wanted to use the Anvil to make a new golem army to restore the dwarves to greatness and recover their thaigs lost to the darkspawn. Branka was obsessed with reviving the Anvil to the point of insanity, having lost her entire house in the Deep Roads yet still maintaining a single-minded focus on the Anvil. She was completely unwilling to turn away from it even after Cardin revealed the secret that golems were in fact dwarves that had undergone an excruciating procedure that gave up their life force to animate the golem. Caridin admitted that while the initial golems had all been volunteers, the greedy king at the time demanded more and more and began forcing people to become golems against their will. Caridin finally refused, and the king ordered the paragon master smith himself be put to the Anvil and turned into a golem. Caridin had spent the last several hundred years with his small squad of a dozen stone golems preventing anyone else from using the Anvil ever again, though the built-in defenses of the Anvil prevented golems from being able to get close enough to destroy it themselves.

Paragon Branka attacked the group when Alim agreed to destroy the Anvil for Caridin, even though her husband Oghren was one of the ones she was attacking. Then again, it had become apparent that she'd left Oghren behind for a reason, and had taken a female dwarf named Hespith as a lover in the time since she ditched Oghren. The party was forced to kill Branka and the small contingent of golems she managed to control. After then keeping their promise and destroying the Anvil, Caridin forged the crown and stamped it with the seal of his noble house. He gave the crown to Alim and told him that he didn't care, that Alim should grant it to the person he thought should have it. After that and with his mission of seeing the Anvil never used again complete, Caridin said goodbye and proceeded to jump from a cliff into the lava flowing through the valley below, killing himself and leaving Alim standing here shaking his head.

"At least he left a few of his golems behind," remarked Alistair while gesturing to the trio of stone golems that survived the battle with Branka, "so we've got something to corroborate this cockamamie story of ours when we tell the Assembly."

"Let's just leave out the part about Branka becoming a dew-licker in the storytelling," grumbled Oghren. No one replied, but most figured his motivation was his own reputation rather than Branka's.

"So who are you going to put on the throne?" Oghren asked, shifting somewhat uncomfortably in his new _Legion of the Dead_ matched set of boots, gloves, helm, and armor. He planned to get a smith to adjust it for him at the first opportunity. "Branka herself said _you _could be the king for all she cared. Then again, she was more than just a little crazy, I have to admit. Still, seeing the expressions on those deshyrs' faces when you declared yourself king by the will of _two_ paragons would be priceless!" He chuckled, though his tone was still weighed down by the loss of his wife.

Alim shook his head. "Oh, no, let's not start _that_ up again!" The others laughed lightly, but the joke wasn't nearly as funny after what had happened to the elf earlier in the week. Or at least they thought it was the same week. They weren't exactly sure how much time they'd spent in the Deep Roads. "In all seriousness, they are your people, Oghren. Who do _you_ think will make the better king?"

Oghren tugged at his beard in thought before shrugging. "They're both sodding screw-ups, I don't care. Anyway, if it's alright with you, I'd just assume stick with you guys and fight the Blight. With Branka dead I've got nothing left in Orzammar."

Alim's eyes quickly roamed from companion to companion, trying to read their immediate body language to get their opinions on Oghren's request to join them. Alim had to admit, his personality was more than a little rough around the edges, but the dwarf was a hell of a warrior. Not sensing any major resistance, the elven warded nodded and extended his hand in friendship to the dwarf. "Welcome aboard."

On the way out of the cavern that previously held the Anvil of the Void, Leliana noticed a large, ancient looking tablet off to the side. Investigating, they discovered it was the golem registry of every dwarf that had been made into a golem. Thinking it would be important information for the Shaperate to have, Alim had Wynne use a number of sheets of blank vellum to take tracings of the tablet. Shale had found out from Caridin that she used to be a dwarf named Shayle of House Cadash, and based on what Caridin said and the golem registry, she remembered where the old Cadash Thaig was located. While making their way back through the Deep Roads towards Orzammar, the group detoured by Cadash Thaig and found a golem monument honoring Shayle's sacrifice. Shale was very grateful that the warden went out of his way for her, and reiterated her promise to see the wardens' mission through to the end.

-==0==-

"This is outrageous!" declared Lord Harrowmont in front of the Assembly. "Paragons allowing a surfacer to choose the king of Orzammar? That cannot be allowed!"

"And yet here are four golems that were there confirming what the Grey Warden says," replied one of the deshyrs in the room.

"This… _elf_… admits to killing Paragon Branka!" Harrowmont countered.

Oghren growled. "Branka was sodding insane after two years out there! She also said the sodding _elf _could be king for all she cared! Maybe if you'd bothered to have her found back then, this would have been avoided! You didn't give a damn about Branka until it suited your own needs!"

The chairman of the Assembly cleared his throat loudly. "Enough!" he declared gruffly. "If it is the will of the ancestors that the Grey Warden chooses our next king, then I will not argue. Warden, who do you choose?"

Alim sighed, beginning to pace back and forth. "I have not spent much time in Orzammar, as you know, so I am at a disadvantage in truly knowing each of the candidates. I came to Orzammar with my fellow warden and companions for one purpose, to secure the assistance of the dwarves against the Blight we face on the surface, per the treaty between the Grey Wardens and Orzammar. A Blight we _know_ is real because we saw the archdemon firsthand while out in the Dead Trenches in the Deep Roads. I did not come here with any intention of being involved in your political process, let alone to decide who will be your king…"

Taking and releasing a deep breath, the elven warden continued, "A joke born of frustration at not only not being able to secure this commitment, but also not even being allowed to speak with Lord Harrowmont or Prince Bhelen, led to me being assaulted on the main street of the Commons by employees of Lord Harrowmont, and to me and my companions being attacked by employees of both Harrowmont and Bhelen in the Deep Roads in an effort to prevent us from reaching Paragon Branka. I have to say, standing here backed by two paragons and the support of a large number of Orzammar citizens, it is increasingly tempting to slap this crown I hold in my hands on my own head, despite the ridiculousness of it. But as I said, I didn't come to Orzammar to get involved in your politics…"

Alim stopped speaking momentarily and looked back and forth at Harrowmont and Bhelen, both of whom appeared nervous. "So… I am left having to decide who has the necessary wisdom, foresight, compassion, skill, and knowledge to be your leader. Fortunately for you, I have found such a man in Orzammar, and that man is in this room."

Walking over to the side of the room, Alim stopped in front of his choice. "Shaper of Memories, I would give you the crown."

A collective gasp filled the room, from the dwarves and Alim's companions alike. Immediately, Harrowmont and Bhelen began protesting, as did supporters on their sides. The chairman of the Assembly loudly shouted everyone down, until even the murmuring stopped and the room was deadly quiet. "Warden," the chairman began, "if that is your will-"

"Wait!" interjected the Shaper, interrupting the chairman. Smiling gently, he turned to the elf. "Warden, I… am flattered, exceedingly so... but I must humbly decline. My place is in the Shaperate, not being the monarch. I must insist that you choose another."

Alim sighed deeply. "I will respect your wish. But Shaper, who else is there? Who would be a fitting king?"

"The ancestors have bestowed it upon you to choose, young warden. I will not go against that and make the choice for you. However, I humbly request that for the good of Orzammar you choose between one of the two established candidates. Either has the potential to grow into being a good king in time."

The elven warden fought off the urge to scoff openly. He nodded to the Shaper of Memories and resumed pacing while contemplating his choice. Finally, he stopped again and turned to face the chairman. "I do not share the Shaper's optimism regarding the candidates, but I trust his judgment." Without saying anything further, Alim turned and tossed the crown like a flying disc. It flew a dozen feet in the air before landing in the hands of Prince Bhelen, who was so stunned he almost dropped it.

"I want the treaty upheld," Alim declared. Without waiting for a response from the shocked crowd or the crown prince, he spun on his heels and left the Assembly Hall, not bothering to stick around for the coronation. His companions exchanged surprised glances at how things turned out before quickly catching up with Alim and following him back to the inn for a well deserved rest.


	8. Chapter 8

"Warden? Don't tell me you need help fighting more abominations," the dwarf asked, smirking after answering the door.

Alim chuckled, shaking his head. "No, Dwyn, thankfully not. Actually I am here about a Qunari greatsword that Faryn in Orzammar said he sold to you."

Dwyn frowned. "What about it?"

"Do you remember my big Qunari companion, Sten?" When Dwyn nodded, Alim continued, "Well, that sword was stolen from him after a darkspawn attack at Lake Calenhad."

"It's very important that we get the sword back," Leliana added.

Dwyn sighed, rubbing his face in exasperation. "Sodding merchant didn't tell me the Qunari that previously owned it was still alive. And if I don't want to give it back?" Scorch growled low in response.

Alistair laughed sarcastically. "Let's just say it involves Sten pulling your arms from their sockets."

Alim chuckled lightly. "There is a reason we didn't bring him with us this time."

"And what do I get out of it? What of the coin I'm out of pocket?"

"You mean what do you get other than keeping your life?" asked Alim, smirking.

Leliana raised her hand, waving off the two wardens. "How much did you pay Faryn for it? We will reimburse you."

Dwyn sighed in visible irritation. "You can have it for six sovereign."

"That's not what Faryn said you paid," Leliana replied matter-of-factly. "You are sure of that, yes?"

Scoffing, Dwyn shook his head. "Fine, three sovereign." Leliana nodded, and Alim produced the coins from his pack and handed them over. Dwyn went and retrieved the greatsword from another room and handed it to Alim. "Goodbye, Warden," he said gruffly, closing the door without another word.

Walking away with the greatsword slung over his shoulder, Alim asked the bard, "How did you know he was lying? Faryn did not tell us how much he sold the sword for."

When Leliana giggled in response, Alistair sarcastically replied on her behalf, "No secret is safe in her presence," sparking a wave of laughter.

"Let's head back up the hill to the castle," the younger warden suggested. "I am looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed tonight."

The two humans nodded in agreement. The party had left Orzammar the day after securing the throne for Prince, now King Bhelen. Ordinarily they'd have opted to rest for a couple of days following their excursion into the Deep Roads, but after the ordeal they went through they wanted nothing more than to get out of town before being pressed into further service. True to his word, Oghren left Orzammar with the wardens, albeit with slight trepidation since he'd never been on the surface before. Shale stayed with the group as well, though the other stone golems that had returned to Orzammar with them from the Deep Roads were left behind with the dwarves.

In addition to the general weariness of travel catching up to them, the group also had a number of skirmishes with blight wolves while descending the Frostbacks. That made travel slower than they'd hoped for and forced them to stay constantly alert, even when camping. While they were glad to be staying at Redcliffe Castle now, they knew it would only be a brief respite. In a couple of more days they'd be back on the road to Denerim for the Landsmeet and the confrontation with Teyrn Loghain.

-==0==-

Arriving at Redcliffe Castle in the late afternoon, Alistair sighed. "Well, I suppose I should go let Arl Eamon know we're ready for him to call the Landsmeet."

"Have fun with that," the younger man teased.

"Meet for dinner in a bit?" asked the older warden, ignoring the good natured taunt from his friend. "I expect the Arl will want to join us to discuss the plans."

Alim nodded. "I'll invite the others as well, though I can't imagine other than Wynne anyone would willingly subject themselves to a formal dinner with a noble."

Leliana punched him lightly in the arm, half-heartedly chiding him. "It is not _that_ bad, you know."

"You two are the cultured ones, not me," replied Alim, winking. "I spend most of the time trying not to embarrass myself by eating with the wrong fork at the wrong time or whatever."

"You are hopeless!" she laughed. Alistair laughed along with her.

Alim smirked. "Not the first time I've been told that."

-==0==-

The Qunari warrior's eyes grew large in astonishment at the sight of the elven warden approaching. Every last detail of the greatsword the young man was carrying had long been burned into the mind of the Qunari, and had haunted his thoughts for the better part of a year. There was no mistaking _Asala_, his soul. Sten never expected to see the blue steel blade again, and had given up hope of ever reclaiming his honor or even being able to go home. He was deadly serious when he told Alim earlier in their adventure that he'd be killed on the spot if he returned home without his sword.

"How?" Sten half asked, half exclaimed in disbelief.

Alim shrugged, smiling. "This is it then?" he asked, holding the sword out in both hands for the Qunari to take.

"_Yes,_" Sten replied, shaking his head. "I cannot believe you managed to find a single lost sword in all of Ferelden."

"Glad to have been able to help," said Alim, waving his hand as if to say it was no big deal. He turned as if starting to leave.

Leliana raised an eyebrow curiously at the warden. "You are not going to tell him?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot… we are having dinner with Arl Eamon, you are welcome to join us for it." With that, Alim nodded and walked off, leaving a bewildered bard and a still astonished warrior. _"That is not what I meant…"_ Leliana thought to herself.

After several moments of silence, Sten exhaled audibly. "The little warden has to be the luckiest man I've ever met."

Leliana scoffed slightly. "_Luck_ only had a little to do with it, Sten."

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, Alim kept it a secret from you, but he'd been searching for your sword ever since you told him about it. He followed a number of leads halfway across Ferelden before finally tracking the sword down and reacquiring it.

"Why did he not tell me before? He did not need to go to that much trouble, I would have done the legwork myself."

"I know he wanted it to be a nice surprise for you, but I don't know why he pretended just now like it was no effort at all. I swear, the man's heart is larger than he is."

"I was mistaken about him," Sten agreed. "He is a warrior worthy to stand among the Beresaad. I did not think so when we first met."

"What changed your mind?" she asked, genuinely interested.

Sten glanced at the bard, and for the briefest moment she saw a smile on his face, one she knew he'd never admit to if asked. "He did," the warrior replied matter-of-factly.

Leliana nodded in understanding before turning and walking towards where she knew the guest rooms were located. She would have used many more words to make the same point, but Sten's simple statement said everything that was necessary. Like most people, she'd underestimated the elf in the beginning as well, thinking Alistair to be the more capable warden in terms of leadership, battle prowess, and so on. And as with Sten, it was Alim's actions that won her over, not his words. After all, she knew as much as anyone that words were easy, that they were a tool that carried little weight on their own. Action is what reveals the true heart, giving weight to one's words. And it was through his actions that she and the others had recognized that the elven warden was much more than he appeared on the surface, much more than he himself realized.

-==0==-

"I see you got away from the little nug humper finally," Oghren remarked in his typical abrasive tone as he passed Leliana in the hall, jarring her from her reverie.

"Wh-what?" she asked, caught off-guard by the comment.

"What is he holding over you anyway? Is it blackmail? Have one of your family members hostage somewhere?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

Oghren shook his head. "The boss! You need help staging an escape? Go on, make a run for it, I'll cover you."

"Wait… you mean… Alim?"

"Who else would I be talking about? He barely lets you out of his sight."

"You think… you think he is somehow keeping me against my will?"

"Why else would you be with him all the time?"

Leliana's bewilderment quickly turned to annoyance. "I am with him because I want to be!"

"You're telling me you actually _like_ the nug licker?" Oghren asked incredulously.

"No, I do not _like_ him. I _love_ him. And you will stop calling him names right now!"

"What's he got that I don't? Or do you always go for those swishy types?"

"He is not… _swishy_! And he is more of a man than you ever will be!"

Oghren scoffed. "Let's not get delusional now. No nug humping elf is gonna out man the Big 'O'."

"I told you to stop calling him names."

"Why? That's probably what he's in his room doing right now with the walking snack he got you."

Leliana's look of bewilderment returned as she tried to figure out what the dwarf was talking about. "He got me… what?"

"Oh… yeah… ummm… forget I said anything," Oghren said nervously before ending the conversation by quickly scurrying away down the hall.

-==0==-

Leliana entered her and Alim's room to find the elf lying on the bed with his eyes closed, though he hadn't been lying down long enough to actually get to sleep. Scorch lay on the floor at the foot of the bed, and next to him was the cutest little nug she'd ever seen. She shrieked with joy, despite the surprise having been semi-ruined already by Oghren.

Alim recoiled at the sudden outburst, sitting up quickly after being startled. Once he realized what the noise was, he started chuckling. "Found your surprise, eh?"

"He is _adorable_!" she squealed, kneeling down to pet the little creature that looked like a cross between a pig and a rabbit. "Thank you so much!"

Smiling sheepishly, the warden got up and walked over to her. "After you mentioned wanting a nug back in Orzammar I asked Bodahn Feddic to pick one up for me and bring it to Redcliffe, since I knew we were coming here next. Keeping it from you went pretty well really, other than having to convince Oghren the little guy wasn't meant to be dinner."

Leliana thought about it briefly, but decided not to divulge that Oghren spoiled the surprise. Instead, she had another thought. Smiling, she asked, "Why is it you tell me what you did for my surprise, but with Sten you said nothing?"

Alim shrugged. "Different personalities. I have learned with Sten that he is a bottom line kind of guy. He is all about the destination, never the journey to get there. So I really didn't think he'd care other than just being glad to have his sword back." Smiling mischievously, he added, "You, my love, care as much about the journey as you do the destination, so I figured you'd want to know how I got it here without you knowing."

The bard giggled, nodding in response. "You are so thoughtful, thank you."

Blushing slightly, Alim replied, "Well, I guess you will need to come up with a name for your new pet. For now though we probably should go see when it will be time for dinner."

-==0==-

Arl Eamon was an affable enough man, particularly in light of the lengths the wardens went to save his life after the poisoning, but he still had very definitive opinions to express about how their strategy at the Landsmeet should go. Dining with his wife Arlessa Isolde, his brother Bann Teagan, the wardens, Leliana, Morrigan, Wynne, and Zevran, he made those views abundantly clear. Taking another drink of wine from the goblet in his right hand, he remarked, "We have two goals for the Landsmeet. First is discrediting Loghain and winning the support of the other Ferelden nobles. Second, but just as important, is using that support to secure the throne for Alistair."

"But I don't even _want _to be the king!" the elder warden protested.

Eamon frowned at Alistair in that fatherly way that conveyed both disappointment and a tacit command to obey at the same time. "_You_ are the only rightful heir, Alistair, the last of the Theirin bloodline."

"What of the queen?" Alim asked.

Eamon scoffed. "Royalty by marriage alone. She is a lowborn, despite her father's position."

Alim shook his head. "That was not my question. I mean, what do you intend to do with her? She seems to me to be an innocent in all of this, and by all accounts a very capable monarch that did much of the ruling in King Cailan's stead. Is it really in Ferelden's best interests to throw that away?"

"We toiled far too long and too hard winning our land back from Orlais to lose our royal bloodline in only a single generation!"

The elven warden simply nodded and returned his attention to the food in front of him, not wishing to get into an argument with the Arl. There were plenty of other things they needed to take care of before the issue of succession even came to the forefront, and it wasn't like Alim disagreed about making Alistair king. He just felt that it was unwise to simply dismiss the queen's skill and experience, and he wondered how they intended to do it. Inexperienced with politics as he was, Alim didn't imagine the deposed queen would be sent packing, free to do whatever she wanted with the rest of her life. Satisfied that he'd convinced the young warden, the Arl resumed monologuing about the politics of the Landsmeet. Everyone but Eamon and Teagan appeared quite bored by it as the evening dragged on, until eventually Leliana excused herself when she felt it was appropriate to do so without being impolite. Following her cue, the others quickly took their leave as well.

The next two days passed in relative quiet and relaxation, but everyone could feel that things were starting to come to a head. Finally it was time to depart for Denerim.

-==0==-

The journey to Denerim was uneventful, largely due to the benefit of traveling with nobility. The party traveled in the comfort of a caravan of horse drawn covered carriages, surrounded by a small army that was more than capable of deterring or handling potential threats. Upon arrival in Denerim, the group was given lodging at Arl Eamon's estate just off the market district. There they had gathered in the main hall to discuss their immediate action plan, when suddenly the front door swung open to reveal Teyrn Loghain entering with a man and a woman at either side. Alistair visibly tensed, clenching his fists, while Alim gave no outward indication other than gritting his teeth. The younger warden was glad to still have his hood on, making it easier to observe without drawing unwanted attention to himself.

"Loghain!" exclaimed Eamon, the surprise evident in his voice. "It is… an honor… that the regent would take time out of his busy schedule to come see me."

Loghain scoffed. "Of course I had to see the man who deemed it necessary to drag every lord in Ferelden to a ridiculous meeting, when we _should_ be fighting the Blight that threatens our lands."

"Uniting Ferelden against the Blight and for the future is precisely why I am doing this," Eamon explained. "Ferelden needs a strong king to lead her."

"Ferelden already has a strong leader, its _queen_!" Loghain barked. "And _I_ lead her armies! You would use your political ambitions to divide us at a time when we can ill afford it!"

"We will see what the others have to say, your position may not be as strong as you think."

Loghain scoffed again. "You have been away from Denerim for too long, Eamon. Rumors are that your illness has left you feeble, that you might not be fit to serve as advisor any longer. Do you not recognize Rendon Howe here? Arl of Amaranthine, Teyrn of Highever."

"And current Arl of Denerim after Urien's unfortunate fate at Ostagar," Howe added rather quickly, as if it was important to him to make sure everyone knew just how important of a man he was. "An embarrassment of riches, truly," Howe smirked, the sleazy grin somehow befitting the man dressed like a rogue in expensive leather armor and carrying a sword and dagger combo.

It was Eamon's turn to scoff. "Why not call the poisoning what it really was, Loghain?" he began, completely ignoring Howe's presence. "Nonetheless, don't count on everyone at the Landsmeet casting aside their loyalties so easily. Maric's _son_ has more claim to the throne than you."

"Ahhh, yes, Maric's _bastard_," sneered Loghain, casting a disapproving glance at Alistair. He obviously knew exactly who the younger man was already.

Alistair cleared his throat. "If you truly gave a damn about saving Ferelden from the Blight you wouldn't have sold us out at Ostagar, nor would you be trying to eliminate us Grey Wardens." He tried to project an air of confidence devoid of emotion, but the rage bubbling just below the surface made it difficult.

Loghain turned to face Alistair, a sly smirk forming on his lips. "My condolences for your losses, but a shame your Order betrayed the king. I see that at least two of you managed to flee Ostagar with your lives."

"Only after we lit the beacon that you retreated from!" Alistair declared angrily.

"Saving us from even more losses, nothing more." Glancing casually at the shorter figure to Alistair's right that he knew from reports was also a Grey Warden, he asked, "What say you? Surely _you_ have thoughts on all of this?"

In as measured a tone as he could muster, Alim replied, "It is taking all of my concentration to keep from killing you where you stand, so no, I have nothing to say to you at the moment."

The woman next to Loghain took a step forward. "Watch your tongue, churl, or I will relieve you of it!"

"You will die trying," Alim said matter-of-factly. "Just like every other would be assassin your liege has sent after us."

"Enough, Cauthrien," Loghain warned in a low voice. "This is not the time or place." Turning back to Eamon, he continued, "I had hoped to talk you down from this rash course, but I see you will not be dissuaded. Know that the emperor of Orlais thought he could take me down too, and you saw how that turned out." With that parting shot, Loghain spun on his heels and stalked out of the estate with Howe and Cauthrien in tow.

While the group was collecting its thoughts after the confrontation with Loghain, a figure slipped out of the shadows and approached them. She revealed herself to be Erlina, an Orlesian elf that was handmaiden to Queen Anora. Erlina explained that Anora was being held prisoner at Arl Howe's estate, and begged for the Grey Wardens to rescue her. Alim was wary of the situation and pressed her for details that weren't forthcoming enough for his tastes, but he reluctantly agreed to help. He told Erlina that they'd meet her outside Howe's estate in Denerim the next morning.

-==0==-

Later that evening after making plans with Arl Eamon and Alistair, Alim returned to his room. He smiled warmly at the sight of Leliana in a chartreuse colored sun dress, curled up in a chair in front of the fireplace reading a book. But even that wasn't enough to shake the tiny bit of dread about what he needed to discuss with her, something he strongly suspected was going to make her upset.

"Hey…" he said softly, smiling gently.

"Hey, yourself," she answered. "How did it go?"

Alim shrugged, shifting on his feet. "Alright, I guess."

The bard frowned slightly, setting aside her book before standing up and closing the distance between the two of them. "I know that look. Something is bothering you, yes?"

Sighing, Alim nodded. Not wanting to drag it out, he answered truthfully, "I am taking Zev and Sten with me tomorrow to rescue the queen."

Leliana looked confused. "Okay… the four of us work well together, I do not understand the problem?"

The warden sighed again, shaking his head. "No, Lel, I am only taking Zev and Sten."

"I… see," she replied curtly. "May I ask why?"

Alim closed his eyes briefly before answering. He'd expected her to get upset, and he could tell from her body language that the irritation was already rising in the fiery redhead. Though there was no agreement, spoken or unspoken, the pair had been nearly inseparable ever since revealing their feelings for each other, and neither had gone on a mission without the other in many months. "I want to keep the group small to avoid drawing attention as we make our way through Howe's estate to get Anora. I chose Zev for his stealth skills and Sten for his brawn, just in case we are discovered. In the meantime, I want you to take Alistair, Wynne, and Scorch and see what information you can gather around town that would help us with the Landsmeet."

Leliana gritted her teeth in frustration. She'd hoped to find a flaw to exploit in his plan in order to change his mind, and because it wasn't what she wanted, she loathed admitting the plan made good sense. "I am telling you right now, Alim Surana, you'd better come back safe or I am going to hurt you."

Alim's eyebrows rose momentarily before he glanced away. After a few moments it became obvious that he was fighting to stifle the giggles. "What?" asked Leliana irritably. "You think me being mad at you is funny, yes?"

Shaking his head, Alim got his giggles under control. "Growing up, First Enchanter Irving used to call me by my full name too when he got upset at me for whatever mischief I'd gotten into, usually doing something with…" His voice trailed off suddenly and his light-hearted demeanor turned pensive.

"Jowan?" she asked, finishing the sentence for him.

"Yes…" the elf answered quietly. "Irving would get so angry with the two of us at times, though it never lasted long. At least not with me anyway, I usually had enough sense to know when enough was enough. A lesson some never learn their whole lives, unfortunately."

The bard knew he was referring to Jowan's actions in illegally training Arl Eamon's son Connor in magic, inadvertently allowing a desire demon to possess the boy, and to his role in poisoning the arl in the attempted political assassination. Those two acts were the final straw that led to Alim telling Eamon's brother Teagan to execute his former best friend. Alim didn't speak much of it, but Leliana suspected he still had some unresolved guilt both over helping Jowan escape the Circle Tower in the first place, and in ordering his death.

"We all make our choices in life," she whispered softly, "and face the consequences that go with them."

"Anyway…" he replied, quickly changing the subject, "I do not like the idea of not having you with me tomorrow, but I think doing things this way makes the most sense."

Leliana sighed, "I do not like it either, but I know you are right. I will worry about you the whole time," she admitted.

Alim frowned slightly, averting eye contact. The bard recognized his expression immediately. "Stop thinking that right now!" she scolded.

"Huh? Th-thinking what?"

She leaned into her warden and wrapped him up in an embrace before explaining in a gentle tone, "I _know_ you are capable of taking care of yourself, and that Sten and Zev will watch your back when you cannot. I will worry simply because I love you."

Alim smiled broadly, his spirits lifted by her words. "I love you too, Lel." After several long moments holding each other, he pulled back and tentatively asked, "Hey, when this is all over and we've defeated the archdemon and all… assuming we are both still alive… how would you feel about… you know… ummm… marriage?"

Leliana's eyes grew wide briefly, but excited as she was she couldn't resist teasing him. "Was that supposed to be some kind of proposal? If so, it was a _really_ poor attempt. You should try again, yes?" She grinned wickedly.

"I never claimed to be a bard," Alim grumbled playfully, realizing she was teasing. He tried to think of an overly flowery minstrel-like way of saying it. "Fine… ahem… my lovely flower, more beautiful than an Orlesian autumn sunset, my love for you floweth over like the Waking Sea spilling out on to the banks of Val Royeaux in the spring, thy presence is an everlasting warmth of summer in my soul, I-"

"Stop, already!" Leliana exclaimed before breaking into a fit of giggles. "That was… truly… _awful_."

Alim started laughing along with her. "Thanks… probably for the best, I had not come up with anything for winter yet that did not involve the Frostbacks and dwarves. Neither of which are particularly romantic."

Catching her breath, she shook her head. "You are right, a bard you are not. Maybe stick with simple, yes?"

Nodding, Alim smiled. "Very well… Leliana, would you marry me?"

She grinned mischievously again, holding out her hand. "Show me the ring first. I must know what I am worth before answering."

Alim's eyes grew wide in shock. "I-I… s-sorry… I d-did not get a ring yet… this was kind of a spur of the m-moment thing." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

Leliana cackled gleefully at his discomfort. "You are way too easy!" Turning serious, she smiled brightly. "Of course I will marry you, Alim."

Relief washed over the elf's features. "I know that marriage does not matter to a lot of people, believing there is no need to formalize one's commitment, but I guess I am rather traditional in that regard. I want to be with you until the end of my days, Lel." Suddenly a thought occurred to the young warden. Reaching up behind his neck, he unclasped his amulet. "I may not have gotten a ring yet, but I do have this to give you. _Warden's Oath_…" he explained, fastening it around her neck. "This is the amulet I received after my initiation into the Grey Wardens, and contains some of the darkspawn blood from my own Joining ritual. The amulet represents my sacrifice and my responsibility. I want you to have it, knowing that I make that same level of commitment to you."

Leliana teared up at the sentiment. "Thank you…" she whispered before kissing him passionately. Pulling back after wiping her tears off on his shirt, she grinned and said, "See, it does not take being a bard to move someone with words."

"Better to be sincere than eloquent, eh?" The couple laughed easily together, and for a brief time thoughts of the immediate concerns of the days ahead gave way to imagination of the possible years ahead, steeling their resolve even further to see them become reality.

-==0==-

"Are you listening, Alistair?" asked Leliana in exasperation. They were barely outside of Arl Eamon's estate into the market district and already the warden was acting highly distracted.

"Huh? Oh, sorry… what was that again?" His eyes glanced away once more.

The bard followed the direction of his eyes with her own, and was puzzled that it didn't appear he was looking at anything in particular. "What is it that occupies your thoughts?" she asked.

Alistair sighed, shifting his gaze to his boots. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"What troubles you, child?" Wynne asked gently, hoping to speed up the process of coaxing the info out of the warden.

Running his hand through his hair, Alistair took and released a deep breath. "I have… a sister… that last I heard lived here in the Denerim market district. I'd already told Alim and he planned on going with me, but he isn't here now. Anyway, I think that is her house over there." He gestured across the district in the direction of Wade's Emporium.

"Oooh!" exclaimed Leliana excitedly. "We must go see her, yes? That little house next to Wade's is it?"

"I-I… don't know. Could we? Maybe it isn't a good idea. We're too busy to stop by, right? We probably shouldn't." His tone of voice gave the impression that he really wanted to see her, but he was also afraid.

Leliana grabbed the warden's hand and tugged him in the direction of the house, peppering him with questions as they walked with Wynne and Scorch trailing behind. "What is her name? Have you met her before? What is she like?"

"Her name is Goldanna, and I'm not sure she even knows I exist," the younger man admitted. "I've thought about it for a long time, but I still don't even know what to say to her. How do I introduce myself? 'Hey, it's me, your brother. Yeah, you know, the offspring of the former king's indiscretions with our mother.'" He sighed, shaking his head. "It just sounds so… weird… _sister_…. _sisssterrrr_…"

Leliana giggled at his nervousness. Approaching the front door to the house, she let go of his hand and turned to face him. "Just be yourself, Alistair," the bard encouraged. "It will be fine."

"W-would you mind, you know, coming in with me?" Alistair asked tentatively. Smiling, Leliana nodded.

Wynne spoke up. "While you two are doing that, I think I will take the dog and pay a visit to The Wonders of Thedas, see what new they have for sale since the last time we were here."

"We will meet you at the Gnawed Noble Tavern afterwards," replied Leliana as Wynne and Scorch began to walk away. With a sense of trepidation, Alistair reached up and knocked on the door to Goldanna's house.

-==0==-

"Come in! It's open!" shouted a female voice from the other side of the door. Alistair stood staring at the door for a couple of moments, as if he momentarily wasn't sure what to do. Giggling lightly, Leliana opened the door and gave the warden a slight shove in the lower back to encourage him to move his feet and enter the house. A lady appearing maybe 10-15 years older than Alistair walked into the front room. "Are you here needing linens done?" the woman asked. "I charge three bits on the bundle, you won't find a better rate. And don't believe what that Natalia woman says, she's foreign and will rob you blind."

Leliana rolled her eyes at the not so veiled implication that being foreign automatically meant untrustworthy. The bard was Ferelden by birth, but Orlesian by culture and language, and knew all too well about being seen as a foreigner. For his part, Alistair chuckled nervously. "N-no, I don't need wash done. My name is Alistair. This may sound strange, but… are you… Goldanna?"

"How do you know my name?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well… I guess… I am your brother."

"M-my wh-what? What sort of tomfoolery are you folk up to?"

Leliana smiled gently. "He is telling the truth, Goldanna, you should listen to him."

Alistair smiled gratefully at the bard before turning his attention back to his sister. "Look, our mother… she worked as a servant at Redcliffe Castle a long time ago, before she died. Did you know-"

"You! I knew it!" exclaimed Goldanna, interrupting. "They told me you died along with my mother! I knew they was lying!"

"Wh-who told you that I was dead?"

"Thems at the castle! I told 'em the babe was the king's, and they told me it and mother was dead. Gave me some gold and sent me away. I knew it!"

Alistair frowned. "I-I am sorry… the babe didn't die. I'm him. I'm… your brother."

Goldanna scoffed. "For all the good that does me! You killed mother and I've had to scrape by all this time! The coin didn't last long, you know, and when I went back they ran me off!"

Alistair's eyes opened wide in shock at the accusation. Leliana held her hands up in front of her, gesturing for Goldanna to calm down. "Goldanna, that is not really fair to Alistair, you cannot blame a baby for the mother dying giving birth." At least that's what she deduced happened from what Goldanna said.

Goldanna sneered. "And who in the Maker's name are you? Some Orlesian tart bangin' him for his riches?"

"Hey!" barked Alistair. "Don't talk to her like that. She's my friend! Another companion and I are Grey Wardens, and she and some other friends are helping us fight the Blight!"

"Oooh!" Goldanna mocked, "A prince _and_ a Grey Warden. Who am I to think so poorly of someone so high and mighty compared to me? Anyway, I don't know you, boy. Your royal father forced himself on my mother and took her away from me, and left me with nothing. I've got five mouths to feed, and unless you're here to help me with that, I've got less than no use for you."

Alistair shook his head in disbelief. "Coin? Is that all you're after?"

Leliana put her hand on Alistair's shoulder in reassurance, not surprised to feel him slightly trembling beneath the thick drakeskin armor. "Goldanna," she began patiently, "Alistair didn't live the privileged life you seem to think he did. He came here looking for family. Don't shut him out like this."

"And so he's found it, I'm his sister. But what is he to me besides the one that took my mother away from me?" Goldanna sighed. "Anyway, I've got five mouths to feed and no time to spare until they are."

"L-let's just… go…" said Alistair, sighing in resignation. He turned to leave, stopping in his tracks when he saw Leliana pulling out her coin purse and walking towards the table off to the side. He watched her curiously as without a word she neatly made five stacks of three sovereigns each, the symbolism of five stacks in reference to Goldanna repeatedly emphasizing five mouths to feed lost on him. The bard didn't spare Goldanna another glance as she returned her coin purse to her pack and proceeded out the door. Alistair paused, but when Goldanna didn't say anything further, even thank you, he simply nodded once in her direction and exited the house.

"Well… that didn't go exactly as expected…" he said, stating the obvious in response to the bard's sympathetic stare. "I can't believe you gave that shrew fifteen sovereign."

"Come on," she replied, hooking her arm around his and leading him away from the house. "Let's get over to the tavern. I think we both could use a drink after that."

Alistair nodded, chuckling sardonically. "Thanks, Leliana. I… I appreciate what you did back there. Not just the coin, but trying to reason with her. As badly as it turned out, it would have been much worse without you there."

"I am sorry that it did not go better. But I don't think you should give up on her just yet. We did catch her off guard, and you were obviously the target for a lot of pent up anger over how her life turned out. Give her some time to get used to the idea of having a brother, maybe she'll realize her anger is misplaced."

"Maybe… but I think for now anyway I'll put it behind me. If we survive the Blight, we'll see what happens then."

-==0==-

Alim, Zevran, and Sten made their way through a back alley on the way to the Arl of Denerim's estate, the current home in the city of Arl Howe. Though it was mid-morning, the street was eerily quiet, much to the consternation of the elven warden who was already wary that they walking into a trap with this mission to rescue the queen. As they turned a corner, a voice called out from atop the hill several meters away.

"And so here is the mighty Grey Warden at long last! The Crows send their warmest greetings, once again." The rogue standing in front of them wore a smug expression as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Taliesin!" exclaimed Zevran. He understood immediately what was going on. "Tell me, were you sent, or did you volunteer for the job?"

Taliesin chuckled. "Why, I volunteered of course! When I heard that the great Zevran had gone rogue, I simply had to see for myself!"

"So is this the part where you regale us with stories of your skill and brilliance, only to fail spectacularly trying to kill us like everyone else has?" asked Alim in a tone feigning indifference. From the shadows cast on the ground and building walls, he could tell there were a number of figures approaching from behind them.

Laughing, Taliesin waved his hand dismissively. "No such luck for you, Grey Warden. Unlike many of my compatriots, I do not underestimate you. I assure you I have come quite prepared." Turning his attention to Zevran, he continued, "You can return with me, Zevran. I know why you did this, and I don't blame you. Anyone can make a mistake. Come back with me and we'll make up a story."

Alim scoffed. "Of course, I'd need to be dead. Right, Zev?"

The taller elf rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "True, you'd have to be dead."

The amusement on Taliesin's face was clear as he thought of how easily he'd convinced his friend to betray the warden. "Ha! Now there's the Zevran I remember!"

The warden turned to face his fellow elf, pulling the hood of his cloak down so his companion would have to meet his gaze. "We've been through a lot together, Zev. You've been a trusted friend. Are you still with me, or is this the end?"

Zevran sighed. "I am with you, my friend. But I am sorry, I cannot help you kill Taliesin. I cannot fight him." Staring back at his former friend and lover, Zevran called out, "I am sorry, Taliesin, I cannot return with you. I will not fight you, however, nor will I interfere in your fight with the Grey Warden." With that, Zev bowed his head and walked away from Alim and Sten, leaving them alone against the dozen assassins surrounding them.

Sten swore in his native tongue loudly at the elf, while a scowling Alim was already laying out his attack plan in his mind and had the beginnings of a _grease_ spell on his tongue. The arcane warrior spun and fired it at a group of four archers, causing them to slip and fall. He immediately followed up with a _fireball_, which exploded with a concussive blast that blew back the archers while at the same time igniting the grease in a furious blaze. The assassins screamed in agony as they burned, dropping to the ground and rolling around but unable to gain any relief while the grease fire around them raged. They quickly died. The large Qunari, wielding _Asala_ in battle for the first time since getting her back, cut a large swath through another group of assassins while making his way towards their leader. He rapidly cut down a pair of them in single massive sweep of the blade, then focused his indomitable will to prevent any of the rogues from being able to stun him with their typical underhanded tactics.

Alim hurriedly cast a _mind blast_ that stunned the quartet of assassins surrounding him, using the time afforded him to scurry out of the middle. He spun and hit one of the foes with a _virulent walking bomb_ spell, and then followed it up with a _stinging swarm _before grabbing a lyrium potion and draining it. He'd just finished the potion when he felt a sharp pain in his back, and realized one of the others had stabbed him. The elf tried to spin around, but became dismayed at being unable to move. Another stab penetrated his armor, causing him to grunt at the unpleasant sensation. He managed to get control of his motor skills just in time to get his sword around to intercept another strike, and he countered with a _flame blast_ that tore into both assassins in front of him and caused them to momentarily retreat. Alim cast a _heal_ spell on himself, then quickly raised an _arcane shield _and a _shimmering shield_ around him to dramatically improve his defense. Drained of mana again, the warden engaged the charging assassin with his sword.

Sten carved through the ranks of assassins in front of him, finally reaching Taliesin. The Qunari warrior had the advantage of reach and strength, while the rogue had the advantage of speed. Timing his attack between powerful swings by his opponent, Taliesin rushed in and unloaded a flurry of stabs that found seams in the warrior's armor and drew blood. Sten angrily reached out and grabbed the front of the master assassin's armor and yanked him forward, practically lifting him from his feet as the Qunari violently snapped his head forward and headbutted his foe, shattering his nose with a loud _crack_ that sent blood spurting. Taliesin swung his twin daggers wildly as he staggered backwards while trying to clear his vision. Sten stalked forward, determined not to let the rogue recover.

Alim swung his sword in his well-practiced figure 8 pattern, aggressively taking the attack to the assassin, keeping her on the defensive while keeping his peripheral vision on another foe attempting to flank him. Breaking through the assassin's defenses, Alim slashed hard across her chest, then followed up with a vicious chop that ended her life. Draining another lyrium potion, he immediately cast an _animate dead_ spell that raised the fallen assassin as his thrall, and turned his attention to the two remaining rogues circling him.

The undead rogue backstabbed one of its former companions, and when the assassin exploded Alim realized that this was the one he'd hit earlier with the _virulent walking bomb_ spell. The explosion splattered Alim and the lone assassin slightly to his side grotesquely, and took out his undead companion in the process. The remaining assassin took advantage of the elf's distraction to throw one of his knives and embed it in his right shoulder. Alim gasped, even louder when he instinctively went to raise his sword to parry an incoming dagger thrust and the knife stuck in his shoulder socket cut deeper through the tissue. He missed the block as a result, and the dagger cut through his upper abdomen, eliciting a screech from the warden. As the assassin pulled the dagger back in preparation for another thrust, Alim reached down and deftly unsheathed _Vigilance _from his left boot in one smooth motion and jabbed it forward. His own dagger pierced the assassin's stomach at the same time he felt his opponent's dagger penetrate his side. The warden dropped to his knees, struggling to breathe. His opponent made no motion to finish him off, and Alim realized that his attack had paralyzed the assassin. He was in the process of willing himself to his feet when he saw a glint of the sun reflecting off a blue steel blade flashing by. The arc of the blade separated the head from the body of the last assassin, ending the threat.

Sten immediately placed a strong hand on the warden's shoulder, saying, "Be still, kadan." With his other hand he yanked the knife free of the socket and cast it aside. He downed his own greater health poultice while handing another one to Alim. The warden took it gratefully, welcoming the healing effects on his wounds. He was just catching his breath when Zevran approached them with an uneasy expression. The former assassin was very unsure of how the warden would react after he sat out the fight.

The Qunari was the first to react, threatening to tear the elf's head off for hanging them out as he did. "I am sorry…" Zev said weakly. "Taliesin and I had too much history together for me to fight him."

Alim shook his head. "You did what you felt you needed to do, but I am not dealing with this right now. Go back to Arl Eamon's estate, we will talk after I get back."

Zev raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You mean to go after the queen with just the two of you now?"

Nodding, the warden replied, "Yes, I cannot go into it worrying whether or not you have my back. Sten and I will go alone."

"It is not like that, my friend," protested Zev. "I _do_ have your back."

Alim fought the urge to make a sarcastic remark at Zev referring to him as a friend right after refusing to fight with him, and instead merely shook his head. "Go back, we will see you later." With that he motioned for the Qunari to follow, and the two of them resumed their trip to Arl Howe's estate, leaving the dismayed Antivan elf behind.


	9. Chapter 9

Alim leaned forward, mock banging his forehead on the door in exasperation. So close… yet, so far. After meeting Queen Anora's handmaiden Erlina outside of the Arl of Denerim estate, Alim and Sten were led around back and given guard uniforms by the elven handmaiden to use as disguises for sneaking into the estate unnoticed. Alim raised an eyebrow curiously at the Orlesian elf having been able to procure guard uniforms, warnings going off in his head that something was wrong about the situation. But when the big Qunari grabbed one of the uniforms though and began putting it on in a huff, the warden sighed and followed suit.

Much to Alim's surprise, the uniforms did exactly as intended and allowed the pair to follow Erlina through the estate without anyone stopping and questioning them. After many turns and long hallways, they finally arrived outside the room where Anora was being held hostage. And just when it seemed like this was almost too easy, reality smacked them in the face. The door was magically warded, so it could not be opened by conventional means or even bashed in. Alim didn't know any spells to dispel the ward, so now they needed to find the mage that placed the ward and convince him to remove it, one way or another. As the warden rested his head on the door briefly, he thought it was very likely that they'd end up having to deal with Arl Howe himself in the process.

"The mage who cast the ward will most likely be with Arl Howe," suggested Anora from the other side of the door, confirming Alim's thoughts. "Howe will probably be downstairs in the dungeons. I hear he tends to like overseeing the torturing of prisoners personally."

Alim nodded, sighing. "Very well… Erlina, remain here while we go find the mage. Hopefully we will be back soon."

-==0==-

Alim sighed again as he and Sten descended the long stone stairwell into the dungeon area of the estate, prompting a glance from Sten. "Is there a problem, kadan?"

"I cannot help but feel we are being set up. Does this not all seem too… _convenient_ for you?"

"Perhaps," replied Sten, agreeing in principle, "though it matters little. If we have to spring the trap, then so be it."

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Alim and Sten exchanged glances at the sight of two dead guards on the floor by the entrance. Examining them, the warden offered in a perplexed tone, "They appear to have had their throats slashed. Whoever did it was very clean and efficient." Sten shrugged in response, not caring other than it was two less for them to fight.

Alim noticed a chest sitting in the corner. Finding it unlocked and popping it open, he was shocked to find some Grey Warden documents contained within it. "This looks like… procedures for the Grey Warden Joining ritual… I wonder why these are here?" he asked. As usual though, his stoic companion did not bother speculating. The elf tucked the papers into his equipment pack and turned his attention towards the door to the dungeon. "Ready?" he asked, despite knowing it was an unnecessary question. The Qunari simply nodded.

As soon as they pushed open the door to the dungeon, a jailor noticed them. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I don't recognize you, what are you doing down here?"

Before Alim could come up with an answer, a prisoner in one of the cells reached out and grabbed the distracted guard, pulling him back towards the cell door and quickly snapping his neck. The guard fell dead in a heap. The warden approached the cell cautiously, giving it a wide berth so not to have the same fate.

"Impressive… nice moves there, old man," Alim remarked casually as he took in the man in the prison cell. The human prisoner was an older man, appearing to be perhaps in his 50s, though his shoulder length brown hair showed no signs of graying. Despite his age and confinement, he looked remarkably fit as well.

"Thank you for the distraction, friend," came the reply in a light accent that sounded like a strange mix of Ferelden and Orlesian. The man reached between the bars of the door and snatched the ring of keys off the deceased guard's belt and unlocked his own door. "Perhaps introductions are in order, however, if only so you never call me 'old man' again. I am Riordan," he explained, "senior Gray Warden of Jader."

Alim's eyes grew wide at the revelation of another Grey Warden in Ferelden. Riordan regarded Alim carefully for a moment. "You… are you Duncan's last recruit? You kind of match his description."

Alim gasped lightly. "You knew Duncan?"

Riordan's eyebrows rose quizzically. "_Knew_?" he asked. "Then it is as we feared," he continued, reaching his own conclusion. "I came to Ferelden seeking him out after we had not heard from him long after the expected time."

Alim briefly filled Riordan in on Ostagar and the current state of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. When he finished, he asked Riordan if he would help them on their current mission and return to Arl Eamon's estate with them afterwards.

"My friend, I am unfortunately in no condition for battle right now. I will make my way out of here and meet you at the estate you mentioned, however." With that he nodded to his fellow warden and left through the door that Alim and Sten had come through.

Sten scoffed openly. "Refusing to help those that freed him, I am _not_ impressed with this warden."

Alim chuckled lightly. "I was kind of thinking it was rather ungrateful myself, to be honest. We have fought many times in a lot worse shape than he appeared to be in. Oh well, we will make do, even though I am kind of wishing now I had not sent Zev back. Mad at him or not, it was not the wisest strategic decision."

"I would have killed him had the choice been mine. Do not place your trust in those whose loyalties can be bought and sold."

"Well, we have more immediate things to worry about than that," Alim replied, not caring to get into a discussion about the former assassin at the moment. "Let's get going."

Sten shook his head. "I… do not believe this."

"Do not believe what?"

"_You _just told _me_ to stop wasting time and to focus on the mission."

Alim laughed, despite the location and situation they were in. "I guess there is a first time for everything, big guy."

Just as he reached his hand to open the door leading into the next area, Alim suddenly stopped.

"What is it, kadan?"

"I just had a thought. The jailor here knew immediately that we were not real guards supposed to be down here. The comings and goings must be tightly controlled."

"Your point?"

The elf smirked. "No sense in keeping these lousy uniforms on at this point. I am going to change back into my regular armor and cloak. I suggest you do the same." He began removing the drakeskin leathers from his pack.

Sten nodded, impressed with the little warden's attention to detail. He began retrieving his own armor while shedding the disguise.

-==0==-

"I require your assistance, dwarf," said Morrigan matter-of-factly as she approached Oghren in the dining hall at Arl Eamon's estate.

Setting down his mug of ale, Oghren grinned wickedly. "_Assistance_, eh? A little too… uhhh… _polite_ for my tastes, but I can't say I'm surprised you finally came around."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your room or mine? Hey, you know why they call me the 'Big O' don't you? Because I make all the ladies say 'oh, oh, oh'. They can never resist for long."

Morrigan's expression changed to annoyance as she figured out what he was referring to. "Oh, you think I am asking for _that_ kind of assistance, do you? Rest assured I would rather mount my staff than you, dwarf."

"I'd pay to watch that."

"I can see why Branka gave up on men and turned to women."

"See, now that's just mean," pouted Oghren.

Ignoring his comments, Morrigan pressed on. "I wish to go into the market to pick up some supplies, and I need you to go with me."

"Since when can't you take care of yourself?"

"'Tis not the issue. I simply wish to avoid unnecessary confrontation with any templars wandering about, and I am more apt to do so if I am not alone. And you and the statue are the only ones here right at the moment. Now will you come with me or not?"

"Fine, fine," Oghren grumbled. "Just know that I'm going to tell everyone we went on a date."

Morrigan scoffed. "And just know that I bear no responsibility for anything bad that might happen to your _manhood_ while you sleep."

Oghren's eyes grew wide. "Uhhh… maybe I won't mention that part then."

"Good idea."

-==0==-

Alim rubbed his face tiredly. Glancing over at Sten, he could tell that the Qunari was fatigued as well. To his left, an undead archer that used to be one of Arl Howe's guards didn't look any worse for wear, though the elven warden admitted to himself that he never could really tell what kind of shape an animated dead was in. Alim had raised the archer during one of the first of a half dozen separate skirmishes with Howe's guards throughout the dungeon, helping compensate some for the lack of a full contingent of companions. Strategically they made their way down the halls, drawing guards and Mabari hounds into choke points that Alim would hammer with area spells like _inferno_, and as guards passed through the wall of flames they'd find a very angry Qunari waiting to cut them down. The undead archer helped pick off stragglers that made it past Sten while he was occupied, enabling Alim to mostly concentrate on crowd control instead of one-on-one engagement. And occasionally they came across more dead bodies that had been killed in a manner similar to what they found at the dungeon entrance. After the lengthy series of battles, they found themselves in front of a large door near what appeared to be the end of the dungeon. Knowing they hadn't come across either the mage they were looking for or Arl Howe, they strongly suspected that both were in the room they were about to enter.

"Your plan?" Sten asked quietly.

"I expect that in addition to Howe and the mage, there will be multiple guards. Not sure if there will be more than the one mage though. I will try to deal with any mages as quickly as I can. Sten, you go after Howe. I know he dressed the part of a rogue when he showed up with Loghain, don't know if it was just for show or not. Attacking Howe will likely draw in his other guards as well." Turning to the undead, he added, "Support Sten if that happens. Otherwise, assist me with any mages."

-==0==-

"Well, well, what have we here?" asked Arl Howe in amusement. "Does Arl Eamon condone the Grey Warden invading my castle and killing my men? Is he afraid his persuasive powers are no match for Loghain at the Landsmeet?"

"Your men attacked us first, Howe. We didn't come here looking for bloodshed."

"What a farce, just like the Landsmeet itself! Loghain will triumph and _you_ will _die_!"

Alim stared calmly at the arl. "Release the ward on the queen's door."

"Oh? You're here for that traitorous bitch? Sorry, I'm going to have my way with that whore before putting her out of Loghain's misery. Don't even think you can intimidate _me,_ you little runt."

The elven warden smirked. "Is that why you collect titles like you do? Because using them to force yourself on women is the only way you can get one into bed?"

A couple of the soldiers snickered, drawing an enraged glare from Howe. "Kill them!" he ordered.

-==0==-

Seeing several archers bunched together around the mage in the back of the room gave Alim an idea. The arcane warrior cast a _force field_ spell on the mage, which ordinarily would seem counterintuitive in that while it resulted in the enemy not being able to take any action, it also protected it from taking damage. However, Alim immediately followed up with a _crushing prison_ that detonated the force field, creating a shockwave that pulsed outward and devastated the archers and left the mage badly wounded. He then turned loose a fireball that finished off the archers just before getting knocked down by the shield bash from one of Howe's soldiers.

Sten repelled a charging soldier with a pommel strike before spinning and decapitating the stumbling foe. Seeing the warden knocked down, he hesitated momentarily as he tried to decide whether to help him or go after Howe. The indecision created enough of a distraction for Howe to step back out of range of a fireball from the other mage that engulfed the elf and the Qunari. The explosive blast roughly pushed Sten from his feet, slamming him backwards into the wall behind him. Alim was largely shielded from a combination of the natural fire resistance of his drakeskin armor plus one of Howe's own guards standing over the warden taking the brunt of it, but the heat of the flame still burned.

Alim rose to his feet, shaking his head slightly at the sight of the scorched guard lying on the ground in front of him, killed by friendly fire. Eyes rapidly taking inventory of the situation around him, at the rear of the left side of the room he saw the female mage he'd previously wounded back on her feet and starting to cast a spell, while the second mage was moving into position to his right and preparing to cast again. Howe was straight ahead and a little further back than he was previously, for now content to let his minions fight for him. A sole remaining soldier to the right was hacking at Alim's undead archer with a longsword, interrupting it from getting many arrows off. The Qunari warrior to his left was scraping himself painfully off the ground.

Making the decision that he was better off going after the mage he'd already wounded, Alim took off running towards her. He didn't need to get closer in order to attack with his own magic, but Alim wanted to create separation between himself and his companions so they couldn't all be targeted by the same area spells. Alim fired an _arcane bolt_ on the run, which tore into the mage but didn't finish her off. Seeing what appeared to be ice forming around her hands and realizing the mage was going to get her spell off before he could interrupt it with a blow from his sword, the warden gritted his teeth. He'd seen Morrigan cast it enough to be fairly sure he was about to be hit with a _cone of cold_ spell. Just before the mage finished the incantation and threw her hands out, however, she suddenly gasped, an expression of shock forming on her face. It lasted a mere second before she slumped forward dead. Alim skidded to a stop, himself shocked by the sight in front of him. Having dropped out of stealth and run the mage through from behind was a rogue holding a dagger coated with a shiny red residue that Alim strongly suspected to be a mage bane poison. The bigger surprise was that the wielder of the dagger was a certain Antivan elf that had been told in no uncertain terms to go back to Arl Eamon's estate.

"Zev!" exclaimed Alim.

"Behind you!" the former assassin warned in response. Alim spun to find Howe's remaining soldier hot on his heels after having finished off the undead archer. At the revelation of the second elf and his own dwindling forces, Howe himself was closing in on Alim as well. The elven warden side stepped the overhand chop from the soldier and subconsciously shuffled his feet to the right before slashing back with his own attack. The soldier turned to meet the arcane warrior's counter, inadvertently blocking Howe from being able to join the attack right away. Alim followed with a _flame blast_ that caught both the soldier and Arl Howe, and when the ignited soldier backpedaled while trying to put out the flames, he stumbled right into the arc of Sten's greatsword, ending the excruciating last few moments of his life.

Alim noticed a soft red glow encompass him, and growled in frustration. It was another familiar thing, having seen Zev use the assassin _mark of death_ ability against their enemies on many occasions. It made the mark much easier to injure than ordinary. For a brief of moment, the thought that it had been Zev that marked him crossed Alim's mind, but just as quickly he dismissed the idea in favor of it having been Arl Howe that did it. The arl came at the warden with a longsword in his right hand and a dagger in his left. Zev moved to intercept, but a _stone fist_ from Howe's mage knocked him violently aside and sent him crashing to the ground. Sten charged at the mage, not noticing the _glyph of repulsion_ marking the ground around him. As soon as he entered the sphere of influence, the warrior was once again blasted from his feet.

Seeing the mage winding up to hit his Qunari companion with a follow up spell, Alim ignored the incoming attack from Howe and cast his own _winter's grasp_ spell at the enemy mage. The magic attack didn't have the desired effect of freezing his foe, but it distracted him enough to stop the spell he was in the middle of casting. The warden paid the price for ignoring Howe though when the arl plunged his dagger into his chest. The thick drakeskin slowed the momentum of the blade enough that the stab only resulted in a shallow penetration, but it stunned the elf and left him wide open to the follow up slash of Howe's sword that gouged deeply into his left arm. Alim screamed, glancing to his side as he looked for help from Zev. He didn't see him though, and Howe stabbed the elf again. Recovering from the previous stun effect just in time to duck a chop aimed at his neck, Alim rolled away and rapidly cast a _heal_ spell to repair his wounds.

Howe's mage shapeshifted into a giant bear and then jumped on top of the Qunari, knocking away his sword and attempting to sink its teeth into his throat. While Sten wrestled with the strong beast, Alim cast a _mind blast_ in an effort to get Arl Howe off the offensive. Howe resisted the spell, and countered with a _dual-weapon sweep _that the warden only managed to partially block. The deflected dagger raked angrily across his neck, tracing a painful crimson line on the surface of the skin but not going deeply enough to seriously hurt him. The longsword caught him in the right shoulder, though his armor reduced the damage to blunt force trauma. The arcane warrior grimaced, grabbing a lyrium potion and draining it on the fly while dodging another attack from Howe. He was in the process of raising his sword to parry another attack when Howe's chop was cutoff in mid-swing by a stab in the back from Zev, who had stealthily maneuvered around behind the arl. Alim capitalized by casting a _crushing prison_ that caught Howe full force, and the combination of Zev's flurries of backstabs coupled with Alim's frontal assault against the now defenseless arl quickly took him down.

The pair of elves ran to the assistance of their Qunari companion against the shapeshifted mage. Zev thrust his daggers into the body of the beast repeatedly, drawing its attention and enabling Sten to get out from under it and get to his feet. Alim cast a _stinging swarm_ spell that inflicted steady nature damage from the summoned insects before beginning to hack away with _Spellweaver_. Recovering _Asala_, Sten joined the fray with a series of powerful swings. Surrounded and unable to cast spells in its shapeshifted form, the mage soon fell.

Zev handed poultices of greater health to his companions before taking one for himself. The trio quietly drank them down as an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Zev dealt with it by moving to loot the bodies while he waited for Sten and Alim to recover. Finding a key on Howe's body, he tossed it to the warden. After recovering anything of worth from the bodies, the rogue took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the other two. He saw Alim's expectant expression. Clearly the elven mage was waiting for him to offer an explanation for his presence.

Many thoughts ran through the former assassin's mind as he contemplated what to say. He thought of how the warden's dismissal of him triggered feelings he'd never experienced before – regret, shame, dishonor. Sure, he'd disappointed plenty of people before, that was nothing new. There were a long string of them back in Antiva. But he'd never cared in the past. He loved life and was a social butterfly, but the carefree façade he always wore belied the emotional detachment he maintained under the surface. The only person back home that he'd let get close enough to be emotionally vulnerable to was Taliesin, whom he'd truthfully been very close to. Even still, it wasn't like Zevran had let Taliesin down personally by joining up with the Grey Wardens. The failed assassination was Zev's job after all. But even having genuine affection for his fellow rogue, the nature of their business prevented a truly open and honest relationship. There were always secrets to be kept, and survival in the Crows necessitated never revealing too much of oneself. Outside of Taliesin, Zevran kept everyone at arm's length emotionally. The goal was always to protect himself from being hurt or exploited by others, at least anymore than what came with the territory due to his upbringing and circumstances, but it also resulted in him being without a true sense of commitment or responsibility to someone or something other than himself. That is, until he met the elven Grey Warden. Alim had not only spared his life, but treated the Antivan assassin as a trusted equal. No, it was even more than that. It was that Alim valued Zevran as a _person_, befriending him despite their rocky start and being genuinely appreciative of his contributions to the team. He felt a sense of belonging in the company of the warden that he'd never felt with the Crows, and on more than one occasion laughed to himself thinking about how the ugly little elf he was sent to kill became the only person he'd willingly lay down his life to defend. So when he failed so badly in the eyes of the warden, he hurt. For the first time in his life he felt bad for what he'd done to another, and for the first time he felt the need to atone for a reason other than self-preservation.

"I suppose you are wondering why I am here?" Zev asked, stating the obvious.

Alim smirked. "Honestly, I am thankful that you ignored my order to go back to Arl Eamon's, but I admit I am curious as to why you did and how long you were with us without us knowing."

The thoughts flew through Zev's mind in mere seconds, and there was so much he wanted to tell the warden. But such things were not meant to be spoken in the presence of anyone except Alim, and in some cases not even then. Still, he knew he needed to say _something_, so he decided to keep it light-hearted. "Well, the prospect of facing the wrath of Leliana and Morrigan if I'd returned without you was more frightening than facing yours for disobeying."

The warden laughed, even though having seen the contemplation on the face of the Antivan elf before Zev shifted his expression to a grin, he suspected there was more that Zev wasn't saying. And between the time he'd told Zev to go back and arriving at the Arl of Denerim estate, Alim had also considered the possibility that Zev would simply leave the group altogether rather than going back to Arl Eamon's, knowing that the wardens wouldn't spend any time trying to track him down if he did leave. "Okay, good point. And then they would have killed me when I got back for making such a decision in the first place."

"As for how long I was with you, it only took me a minute or two to decide to follow. I kept to the shadows, slipping into the estate behind you and making my way around unseen. I heard you decide to go into the dungeons after the mage who warded the Queen's door, so I moved on ahead to scout things out."

Sten's expression perked up. "You were responsible for the guards we found along the way that had already been killed."

Zev nodded. "Yes, where I was able to do it without being detected, I took out guards to make the path a little easier. I would have revealed myself earlier, but the two of you plus the warden's undead companion were handling yourselves well, so I saved the element of surprise for when it was most needed."

Alim clasped his fellow elf on the shoulder and nodded before walking towards the door, an unspoken sign of forgiveness. "Let's check the cell blocks and release anyone that Howe had prisoner, then go get Anora and get out of here." As he reached the door, he paused and glanced back. "Thanks for having my back, Zev."

The former assassin's lips tugged upwards in a sincere smile as he silently nodded back in response. Following Alim and Sten into the hall, Zev chuckled to himself at the realization of how much he'd wanted to regain the warden's approval and how good it made him feel that he did.

-==0==-

Alim was even more disgusted with Howe and Loghain after freeing several prisoners from the dungeon. One of the prisoners, Irminric, was the templar tracking his old friend Jowan after his escape from the Circle Tower, only to be ambushed and taken captive in order for Jowan to be able to play his role in poisoning Arl Eamon. The templar was so delirious that he wouldn't leave his prison cell, though he did give the warden a family ring to give to his sister Alfstanna if he managed to locate her. Alim didn't have the heart to tell him he had no idea how they were ever going to track down this Alfstanna, but promised anyway that he would try. They also found a soldier named Rexel who was imprisoned for nothing other than being a survivor of Ostagar that knew too much so to speak. Another prisoner still tied to a torture rack was Oswyn, the son of Bann Sighard being used as collateral to force the bann to side with Loghain at the Landsmeet. An elf named Soris from Denerim's alienage was locked up for his role in an incident that was actually caused by the former Arl of Denerim's son Vaughan.

It was ironic that Vaughan was also imprisoned, though it was simply to keep him out of the way so Howe could take over the position as Denerim's Arl instead. Zev was in favor of letting Vaughan rot based on what Soris had told them, but Alim convinced him that they didn't have enough info about what happened in the alienage and that Howe falsely imprisoned Vaughan as a political move, not because of any misdeeds. After the cell was unlocked, Vaughan swore that as the rightful Arl of Denerim he'd support the warden in the Landsmeet. Alim was quick to point out that the support was appreciated, but he didn't want Vaughan to feel like his support had been bought at the price of his freedom, he was letting the former arl's son out regardless. Vaughan smirked at the little elf and assured him that he was going to support anyone going up against Loghain at this point.

After releasing all of the prisoners and sending them back the way the group had already cleared, Alim unlocked the door to the stairwell nearest the cell block with the key Zev had looted from Howe's body, and they ascended to the main floor. The trio had to fight their way through several more waves of guards before arriving back at the Queen's room, but they finally made it and found the ward previously keeping the door locked was gone. Seeing the warden's group, Erlina beckoned for Anora to come out of the room.

While waiting for Anora, Alim turned to Zev. "Scout out ahead, see if the coast is clear. We need to get out of here as quietly as possible." Zev nodded and slipped into the shadows.

Anora opened the door and emerged from the room wearing a guard's uniform like what Erlina had given them to use as disguises. The warden's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Where did you get the uniform?" he asked.

Erlina spoke up. "I retrieved it for her, just as I did yours," she said matter-of-factly.

"No one here can find out who I am," Anora added. "If I am discovered by Howe's men leaving with you it will viewed either as you kidnapping me or me trying to escape, and either way I will probably be killed. If I am seen by my father's men they will insist on taking me back to the palace... where my father may also have me killed."

Alim sighed, nodding. He knew she was right, but he still felt something was amiss.

Zev quietly returned. "Bad news, my friend, there is a small army guarding the exit. That lady that was with Loghain yesterday appears to be the one leading them."

"Ser Cauthrien," Anora said softly. "She is my father's top lieutenant."

"What are they doing?" Alim asked Zev.

The former assassin shrugged. "They appear to be waiting, like they are expecting something."

Alim pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes in thought. _"Why would she be here? It could not be for us, unless…"_ Suddenly, the warden's eyes snapped open and he glared at Erlina. "Who are you, really?" he asked pointedly.

If Erlina was surprised by the question, she didn't show it. "I have told you who I am. I serve the queen as her handmaiden."

"A handmaiden that just happens to be able to move around freely in a hostile environment, obtaining guard uniforms without being noticed, despite being an Orlesian elf?"

"What are you implying, warden?" asked Anora.

"That I do not see why Ser Cauthrien is waiting for us with a large contingent of soldiers unless your father was tipped off that we were coming here today for you. Especially since they conveniently arrived _after_ we were already inside."

Anora sighed. "If it will help you trust me, I will tell you this. Erlina _is_ my handmaiden, but her skills go far beyond a mere serving girl. She is also a bard, and for years she has been my eyes and ears in places I cannot be. My father has many spies in this city, but I assure you Erlina is not one of them."

Alim nodded wordlessly, grudgingly accepting the explanation. "Any other way out?"

Zev chuckled sardonically. "I checked the back way and there are even more guards there. They have sealed off the entire area."

"Obviously you were correct about walking into a trap," said Sten to the warden while shaking his head.

"Zev, I need an honest assessment here. From what you have seen, what are our chances fighting our way out?"

Zev shook his head. "Not good." Gesturing towards Anora and Erlina, he added, "Even less if we have to protect these two as well. Though I suspect the handmaiden can protect herself just fine. And… you have surprised me before in getting out of seemingly impossible situations."

"There… might be another way," Erlina offered softly. All eyes turned to her. "Teyrn Loghain will want you alive if possible," she said while looking at Alim.

"And you know this how?" Sten demanded suspiciously.

"I know how the political game is played. It would be one thing to kill the Grey Warden and claim you were trying to kidnap the queen, a claim that Arl Eamon could rightly dismiss as lacking proof. It would be something entirely different to have the Grey Warden confess to it. That would destroy Arl Eamon's standing."

Alim flashed an incredulous glare. "Why would I ever confess to kidnapping the queen? Unless you are telling me now that this is not the rescue we were told it was?"

Erlina gestured for the warden to calm down. "It _is_ a rescue. But know that they would torture you until you either confessed or died. People usually break under torture, eventually they will admit to anything to make the pain stop."

In Alim's mind he suddenly flashed back to a late night conversation with Leliana in front of a camp fire. He remembered the pained expression on the bard's face as she told him the story of Marjolaine's betrayal, and how she was tortured until she finally caved in and confessed to her mentor's crimes. _"If Lel was not strong enough to hold out, what hope do I have?"_

"So you propose surrendering the warden in exchange for letting the rest of us go?" Zev asked when Alim didn't respond after a few moments. The Orlesian elf nodded.

"No," Sten answered simply.

"Where would I be taken?" asked Alim. "What would be the possibility of escape or rescue before they killed me?"

"No!" Sten said again, this time more forcefully. "We are _not_ considering this."

"Fort Drakon…" Anora said softly. "It would be… difficult… to rescue someone there, even more so a high profile prisoner. The Landsmeet is only a few days from now. If you have not confessed by then you will no longer be of any use and they will simply kill you."

"I must agree with the big guy," offered Zev, "surrender is crazy."

Alim nodded in resignation, his weary expression matching those of his companions. They were pretty well worn down from all of the fighting they'd done up to this point, and the prospect of an even more challenging one was a bit disconcerting. Nevertheless, surrender in this case sounded a lot like delayed suicide. "Erlina, keep Anora safe. The three of us will clear a path to the door. Make a run for it when you get a chance." Turning to Sten and Zev, he continued, "Guys, we do not have to kill everyone. Once Erlina and Anora get out, make for the exit too. Once we reach the streets it will be easy to lose any pursuers. If we get separated, do whatever you need to do to get back to Arl Eamon's estate."

-==0==-

Taking and releasing a deep breath, Alim led the group into the front room of the estate where Ser Cauthrien was waiting with her men.

"Warden!" she declared. "In the name of the regent, I am placing you under arrest for the murder of Rendon Howe. Surrender and you _may_ be shown mercy."

Alim's eyes opened wide in shock, and he was thankful his expression was mostly hidden beneath his hooded cloak. _"How could she possibly know about Howe already?"_ he asked himself. His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth in frustration at the situation, his thoughts immediately going back to having been set up. "What makes you think Arl Howe is dead?" he asked, feigning innocence for now. "I talked to him not too long ago."

For a brief moment, doubt crept across Cauthrien's face before she forced her expression back to one portraying confidence. "Perhaps we should go ask him how he is doing then, see if he'll clear up this _misunderstanding_?" she asked, smirking confidently.

"I think we both know that won't be necessary," replied the elven warden. "You obviously were sent to entrap me, never mind that Howe and his men actually attacked us unprovoked and that we freed a number of falsely imprisoned nobles here. Tell me, is Loghain's plan to win the Landsmeet to simply eliminate everyone with a vote that he cannot coerce into siding with him?"

Cauthrien scowled. "You know nothing of the Teyrn! He is a great man! Now surrender or die!"

"Will I actually get a trial, or will you skip straight to the torture and execution?" Despite the calm, almost aloof demeanor he wore, Alim's mind was going a thousand miles per hour calculating all of the potential options. The situation with the guards was even worse than he imagined. The medium sized room had been cleared of furniture. Clearly they were expecting a fight and wanted no obstacles in the way. The outside entrance was extremely well guarded, with Ser Cauthrien backed by a quartet of soldiers and a mage blocking the way. Flanking the doorway were another half dozen soldiers on either side, and Alim counted a dozen loaded crossbows pointing at him from archers positioned along the walls.

"I make no promises," she declared.

"And of my companions? Will you allow them to leave freely if I surrender quietly?" Sten growled low in response to the warden's suggestion. Alim cast a glance that silently asked the Qunari to trust him.

Cauthrien laughed haughtily. "You think you are in a position to make bargains?"

"Let's just kill the stinkin' elf and be done wit it!" shouted one of the soldiers a short distance away, pointing his sword menacingly at the elven warden before glancing back at Ser Cauthrien. The words were barely out of the soldier's mouth before blue steel flashed and his helmed head hit the ground with a clank and rolled away from the body that fell a moment later. The Qunari wielding the greatsword that struck the soldier glared defiantly at the corpse and then at Ser Cauthrien.

Alim's face twitched slightly at Sten's action, but he didn't give any other visible cue other than shrugging. "I was offering you a chance for your men not to die needlessly. But I suppose that is your choice."

The tense silence was palpable, and the warden could practically see Cauthrien growing angrier with each passing moment. Finally she screeched, "Attack!"

Erlina grabbed Anora and yanked her back towards the doorway they came through, while Sten began swinging _Asala_ in wide arcs and Alim and Zev scattered in opposite directions, left and right respectively. Deftly avoiding swords swinging in his direction, Zev quickly covered the distance to the mage in front of the door, taking advantage of the mage's distraction of casting buffing spells on Cauthrien to plunge the dagger in his left hand into the foe's stomach. He then spun and stabbed him in the side with his other dagger before scurrying around behind the mage to use him as a shield in front of the approaching soldiers.

Alim found himself immediately surrounded and cast a _mind blast_ to buy some time before sending a _fireball_ at one of the groups of archers. He heard Cauthrien scream, "The Warden's a spellsword, stop him!" and felt pressure closing in on his right. He shuffled more towards the side of the room, swinging _Spellweaver_ and pushing _flame blasts_ and _arcane bolts_ to keep enemies at bay as much as possible. He was vaguely aware that he was the focal point, and began trying to balance defending himself with his sword and casting buffing spells on himself.

Sten's angry swings sent soldiers scattering, opening up the middle of the room as he continued to stalk forward. Zev shoved the weakened mage into a careless swing from a soldier overzealous in his attempt to attack the elven rogue, bringing about a quick death. Zev followed with a whirlwind attack against the trio of soldiers closing in on him, and then a dual weapon sweep that finished off one and caused another to fall back with a serious injury. The third soldier pressed the attack, driving the elf back away from the door with a series of slashes and thrusts.

Cauthrien directed her soldiers to hem in the Grey Warden, and moved herself such that she wouldn't be in the way of one of his spells but could also cutoff any escape route to the door for him. Alim kept fighting, doggedly determined not to fail despite the numbers that threatened to become overwhelming. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Erlina dash by with Anora right behind her. A short time later he saw Sten reach the door. He heard Zev shout, _"All clear!"_ before ducking out, indicating that everyone but him was gone. The elven warden cast another _mind blast_ and then sped towards the door. Cauthrien screamed for someone to take him down. His sprint towards freedom was interrupted by arrows slamming into his left hip and thigh, which caused his leg to give out and for him to go down in a sprawling heap. He hurriedly cast a _heal _spell while dragging himself to his feet, but before he could do anything else he was roughly thrown down and surrounded. Ser Cauthrien parted the crowd, standing over the elf with her greatsword pointed at his throat.

"Yield or I'll run you through," she warned in a tone that left no room for wavering.

Alim sighed, nodding as he let go of his grip on his sword and let it fall next to him with a clank. One of the soldiers immediately picked it up and handed it to Cauthrien.

"A mage _and_ a warrior," she commented. "Rather impressive, Warden. A shame you chose to betray Ferelden, you could have been useful."

"We are trying to _save_ Ferelden from the Blight! Surely you can see that Loghain has become powermad? Imprisoning political opponents? Attempted assassinations? You cannot seriously believe what he is doing is in anyone's best interests but his own."

Cauthrien scowled. "Any more out of you and I'll make good on my earlier threat to remove your tongue."

Knowing it was futile to argue with her about Loghain, Alim simply shook his head. "At least my companions got away," he muttered to himself, trying to assure himself of at least something positive that came out of this.

"Got away?" Cauthrien asked sarcastically. "I _let_ them go. Capturing you was the only thing that mattered. A simple tactical decision, really. Separated you from the rest of your companions, gave them the opportunity to flee to make sure you didn't have any help, and then tightened the noose around you." She leaned over and with a wicked grin yanked the two arrows out of his leg, causing him to grunt painfully. Turning to one of her men, she ordered the warden shackled and taken to Fort Drakon.

Outside, an Antivan elf hiding in the shadows made note of the soldiers taking the captive Grey Warden away before disappearing into the bustle of the Denerim evening.

-==0==-

Zevran entered Arl Eamon's estate and immediately shouted out to get everyone's attention. As his companions filtered from their rooms into the common area with expressions of puzzlement, Sten arrived as well. The Qunari's eyes narrowed. "Where is the warden?" he asked. Erlina approached the group, having come into the room from Arl Eamon's study.

"Come," replied Zev, "let's find the arl and I will explain." His grave expression said enough for everyone to know it wasn't going to be good.

Leliana grabbed his arm. "No, you will explain _now_," she demanded.

"Captured…" the elf began solemnly. "He enabled all of us to get away, but could not escape himself."

"Where is he now?" asked Morrigan.

"They will take him to Fort Drakon," said Anora, approaching the group with Arl Eamon in tow. "He must be rescued quickly… he will not survive long there."

Leliana swore in Orlesian, drawing a curious but knowing stare from Erlina while the others glanced around at each other.

Alistair cleared his throat. "We leave in one hour," he said definitively, spinning on his heels and stomping away. "Gear up!"

"Who all is going?" asked Wynne.

"I'm in," declared Leliana.

"As am I," added Morrigan.

"Likewise," Shale said.

Scorch barked in the affirmative.

"Sodding right I'm going!" growled Oghren.

Sten nodded vigorously.

Zev grinned slightly. "I suppose it is unanimous." Everyone nodded solemnly in agreement before going off in separate directions to prepare.


	10. Chapter 10

"Ughhh…." groaned the nearly naked elven Grey Warden, landing with a thud after being tossed unceremoniously into his prison cell. He rolled over on his back and stared through unfocused eyes, barely aware of the smirking guard slamming shut and locking the cell door. The cold of the dirty stone floor clashed harshly with the burning sensations cascading off of his bare back from where he was whipped. He shivered involuntarily in response before rolling to his side and dry heaving, the contents of his stomach already long past gone as a result of the torture he'd been put through. He had been right to question Ser Cauthrien about whether or not he'd get a trial to defend himself, since early indications were strongly to the contrary. The soldiers hadn't even bothered showing the warden to a cell before stripping him down and strapping him to a rack. A couple of hours of leading questions and twisting words and meanings coupled with beatings and limb stretching left him in a nauseating level of pain.

"Are you alright, man?" the prisoner in the next cell over asked in a loud whisper after the jailor strolled off while laughing to himself.

Alim didn't answer at first, waving his hand while wearily casting a _heal_ spell on himself. His first attempt fizzled out when his concentration broke from an acute pain shooting through his spine, but he managed enough willpower to succeed on the second try. Feeling a lot better, he slowly sat up and turned his head in the direction of the other man. "I have been better," the elven warden admitted, "but I am at least still alive… for now…"

The old man nodded. "For now…" he echoed softly. There was no sense in mincing words, Fort Drakon was a death sentence and everyone there knew it. The two men fell silent, lost to their own thoughts.

"_Waiting for the others to rescue me needs some rethinking at this point," _Alim thought to himself. _"With the Landsmeet only a few days from now, they will only allow enough of a break from the rack as it takes to keep me coherent."_ His thoughts turned darker._ "I will not survive much of this,"_ he admitted to himself grimly. After several minutes of thinking, he came to a conclusion. He couldn't wait for a rescue.

"I need to get out of here," he muttered out loud matter-of-factly.

The old man in the cell next to him scoffed openly. "Sure, buddy, you and everyone else in here too."

Alim shook his head. "I am serious. I cannot go back on the rack. I need a plan…"

"Well, even if you managed to figure out how to get out of the cell, and even if you managed to find weapons and armor after that, you'll still need to get past a battalion of soldiers in this place," suggested the old man cynically.

"True… one thing at a time though. How do I get out of the cell in the first place? The guards will come for me when it is time for my next torture session, but they will be alert then. I need to get one of the jailors to open the cell with their guard let down."

The old man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You could fake being sick or something. I can call the jailor over, maybe that'll get him to open the door to come check you out. But it seems like suicide trying to take on an armed guard in your underwear and half beaten to death already, even if you do catch him off guard."

"I might have a trick or two up my sleeve." Looking down at his bare torso and arms, Alim grinned very slightly. "Figuratively speaking, of course."

"Your funeral," replied the old man, shrugging. "Anyway, if you wanna do it just say the word."

Alim nodded.

-==0==-

Darkness had fallen on eastern Ferelden by the time the small infiltration squad arrived outside of Fort Drakon. Zev and Leliana's recon of the fort's exterior defenses revealed a walled off encampment where a large gate was the only feasible way in or out. The lone gate remained closed when not in use and was well defended, with a quartet of guards stationed in front of it and regular patrols marching around the exterior. Casing the entrance, Zevran counted roughly twenty more guards inside the courtyard when the gate opened for a shift change.

Returning to the others, Zev shook his head. "Our best chance is to take them by surprise right after a shift change and between one of the patrols circling by. It still will not be easy."

"No matter," replied Morrigan, "it must be done." The others nodded in agreement.

"_Please be okay,"_ Leliana prayed silently, for at least the tenth time since she'd found out her warden had been captured. Lost to her thoughts and numerous prayers, she hadn't said hardly anything to the others on the way over. She knew she'd find focus when the action started, but for now she indulged her worried mind. Leliana offered up another prayer to the Maker for Alim's protection. Her belief that the Maker still listened to and rewarded his children's faith may have gone against the Chantry teachings that the Maker took no active role in his current creation, but it was a belief she held fiercely. And so she prayed passionately in silence, that the one thing that even remotely compared to the Maker in terms of importance in her life wouldn't be taken from her.

-==0==-

After concluding his own prayer, Alim opened his eyes and turned to his fellow inmate. "Call the jailor over." He lay down on his side facing the cell door and pretended to go into convulsions.

"Hey!" shouted the old man in the next cell. "Guard! Come quick! This guy is really messed up here!"

One of the jailors came into the area with a bored expression on his face. "What are you clamoring on about?"

The old man feigned worry. "This guy," he said, pointing to Alim. "You must've roughed him up pretty bad."

The guard's eyes narrowed at the twitching elf on the floor with spit running out of its mouth. "Damn knife ears," he grumbled while fumbling through his keys for the right one. "You'd better not die on _my _shift. I don't want to have to fill out the paperwork on you." He opened the cell door and approached the warden, sighing in exasperation as he prodded at the elf with his boot. "Come on, you're supposed to be a Grey Warden. Suck it up, we didn't beat you _that_ badly yet."

When the warden didn't respond, the jailor scoffed and turned back towards the door. "I guess you're gonna make me have to walk upstairs to get the doc, huh?" he muttered. "You're damned lucky the regent still has a use for you, personally I don't think you're worth the troub-"

The jailor's monologue was cut off when Alim rolled to his knees and cast a _crushing prison_ spell, causing him to grit his teeth in muffled anguish as the invisible force began squeezing the life out of his body. Standing up, the arcane warrior threw a _walking bomb_ spell on top of it before grabbing the keys and exiting the cell, closing the door and locking it behind him. Trying different keys until he found the right one, Alim unlocked the cell of the surprised old man that had helped him stage the first phase of the escape.

"Thank you for help," he said to the old man, smiling slightly.

"Grey Warden, huh? Maybe you have some tricks up your sleeve after all."

"Yes, but you would be better off not staying too close to me. I will be a guard magnet in this place, so take advantage of my diversion to get yourself out of here."

The _crushing prison_ spell wore off the jailor, who fell to the floor gasping for a moment. Almost immediately he realized the situation he was in, and growled at Alim. "You are going to be dead when I get out of here!"

"What are you going to do about him?" asked the old man. "He'll make so much noise that other guards will come."

Alim smirked as he replied to the old man while meeting the furious jailor's glare. "He is already dead, he just does not realize it yet." With that, he spun on his heels and started to walk away. The jailor began screaming for help and the old man was just about to ask the warden what he meant when the imprisoned guard detonated from the _walking bomb_ spell, his body grotesquely splattering the walls, floor, and ceiling of the small cell. The old man's eyes widened even further in stunned disbelief, never having seen anything like this before. He was so leery of the Grey Warden now that he made no attempt to initiate further conversation or to follow. Instead, he purposely went in a completely different direction to make his own escape.

-==0==-

The elven Grey Warden couldn't help but laugh to himself at discovering all of his gear piled into a large chest on the opposite side of the cell block he'd been jailed in. _"How could they be that stupid as to leave my equipment right here? Oh well, I am not going to turn down the gift."_ He quickly put his drakeskin armor on before attaching _Spellweaver_ to his belt, smirking that _Vigilance_ was still in the boot sheath where he'd left it. _"Do not get arrogant, Alim, you are still a long way from safety,"_ he reminded himself. A brief perusal of his pack revealed that his collection of poultices, lyrium potions, and other miscellaneous items was still intact. He put his cloak back on and pulled the hood up, and then strapped his pack to his back. Satisfied he was ready, he moved to the door he remembered being brought in through, thinking that retracing his steps was his best bet to reach the outside of the fort.

-==0==-

"Hey!" exclaimed a soldier when the door opened to reveal the Grey Warden. The guard immediately ran towards the weapon rack to grab his greatsword, while the Mabari hound with him growled and charged the elf. Alim cast a _mind blast_ that stunned the hound, and before the guard could retrieve his sword the arcane warrior had already launched a _fireball_ at him. The detonation blasted the guard through the window next to the weapon rack, shattering the glass and sending him hurtling in a fiery blaze to his death when he hit the stone path of the courtyard below.

Alim turned just in time to be bowled over by the Mabari, which was tenaciously trying to sink its teeth into his neck. The warden shoved the gauntlet on his right forearm into the hound's mouth, cringing from the pressure alone of the strong bite that threatened to crush the bone. Reaching down with his left hand, he managed to get _Vigilance_ free and plunged it into the hound's midsection. The Mabari let go of Alim's arm as it yelped, and Alim took advantage of the reprieve to cast a _flame blast_ that sent the hound leaping off of him and rolling around on the ground trying to extinguish the flames. The warden scrambled to his feet while drawing his sword, attacking the wounded hound and reluctantly finishing it off. He knew a Mabari's life was a warrior's life and that death in battle was not an unusual end, but he always felt a slight remorse at being forced to end the life of one of the proud beasts that didn't get to choose whether or not they fought and for whom. Perhaps he felt a bit of kinship, in part because of his close friendship with his own Mabari, and in part because the elf also wasn't given a choice in life. Alim sheathed his sword and dagger before popping a lyrium potion and moving on to the next room.

-==0==-

The group lying in wait outside the fort exchanged surprised glances after the loud crash of shattering glass followed by a screaming flare illuminating the night sky before disappearing from sight. It didn't take much to guess the cause of it.

"We go _now_," stated Leliana while drawing her dragonthorn recurve longbow from her back.

"Melee fighters charge the gate, ranged fighters cover us," added Alistair, drawing his own _Keening Blade_.

"Oh? Are we being subtle now?" Sten asked derisively, though truthfully he welcomed the more straightforward approach. Lifting _Asala_ from his back, he led the charge to the gate, belting out a terrifying _war cry_ along the way. Arrows and arcane bolts passed over his head in the direction of the gate guards, while Scorch roared past him. Alistair, Oghren, and Shale trailed closely behind as the group moved swiftly to engage the enemy.

-==0==-

At the sound of voices approaching from further down the hall, Alim made the impulsive decision to open a door and duck into a side room in order to avoid confrontation. Fortunately no one was in the room, so he quietly closed the door and looked around. He rummaged through the supplies and took what looked useful, and was preparing to go back out to the hall when he suddenly stopped in front of an armor rack and grinned.

"No chance this works again, is there?" he asked himself out loud. Hanging on the rack in front of him was a set of the armor that was standard issue for Fort Drakon soldiers. After a moment of deliberation he decided to go for it, figuring that it'd be worth it if the disguise helped avoid unnecessary confrontation. He began changing out of his drakeskin armor.

Leaving the room, Alim turned and proceeded further down the hall towards where he remembered the next door being. He saw a pair of guards coming his way, and rather than risking being discovered despite his disguise, he opened the nearest door and went into the room as if he was going exactly where he was supposed to. The warden froze upon entering, however, when he realized he'd unwittingly walked right into the Fort Drakon commander's office. Flanking the commander were a pair of lieutenants, with two other soldiers off to either side of the room.

"_This is bad…I'm dead…"_ Alim thought grimly. He fought to keep his expression neutral while his mind raced through his tactical options and formulated a strategy.

"Hey! Who are you?" asked the commander pointedly. Alim was trying to come up with an answer when the commander suddenly spoke again. "Wait, you're that new recruit aren't you? You're late!" he barked. "The rest of your squad should be in the storage room. Go get them and tell them to prepare for inspection!"

"Y-yes, ser!" Alim blurted out, turning and quickly exiting the room. He sighed in relief in the hall after closing the door behind him. _"That was way too close… no more blindly entering rooms."_

Ignoring the commander's order to go find _his squad_ in the storeroom, Alim wandered further down the hall and turned the corner, entering a foyer with large double doors. In front of each door was a guard, and archers stood in each corner opposite the doors. The elven warden took a deep breath and then tried to act natural as he approached.

"Password?" one of the guards asked in a very disinterested tone.

Alim grinned slightly. "Open sesame?"

The guard rolled his eyes. "Never heard that one before…" he deadpanned.

"Can't you cut me a little slack? I'm new here."

"Come on, greenhorn, you know the rules. No password, no exit."

Sighing, Alim nodded. "Very well, I will go find out the password and come back…" _"Maybe those 'squadmates' of mine will know it…"_

-==0==-

Alim entered the storeroom to find a couple of soldiers moaning about their cleanup duty. He was trying to think of the best way to approach them when he heard them start talking about passwords.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous that they change the password everyday and won't let you out of here without it," said one soldier.

"No kidding! Last week I was stuck here overnight because I forgot the damned password. They made me wait until the next day to tell me the new one! That's why I've taken to writin' 'er down and keepin' it in my pocket." He patted his right front pocket for effect.

Alim's expression perked up at the mention of the password being in the guy's pocket. He'd learned the basics of pick pocketing from his bard, and now was as good a time as any to put that skill to use. Approaching quietly, he lightly bumped into the soldier that said he had the password while trying to reach into his pocket.

"Hey!" exclaimed the soldier, shoving the elf away. "What're ya think yer doin'?"

"S-sorry," Alim replied, gesturing for the man to calm down. "I was just coming to tell you that the commander wants us to get ready for inspection." He groaned inwardly at failing to nab the password.

Both soldiers sighed heavily. "Well, that's just great. The assistant quartermaster won't give us our blades back because we got him in trouble, and we can't pass inspection without them."

"I told ya we shoulda put the potatoes up right when we got 'em!" exclaimed the first soldier. "Now what 're we gonna do?"

Alim rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What if I talk to the assistant quartermaster? Maybe I can get him to give your swords back?"

The first soldier shook his head skeptically. "I doubt it'll work, but you're welcome to try. He should be down the hall in the quartermaster's office."

Nodding, Alim asked, "By the way, what's today's password? The commander wanted me to go up front for something and I can't remember the password to get past the idiots blocking the doors. I'd really rather not have to go ask the commander for it."

The second guard grinned deviously. "Tell ya what, get our blades back and I'll give ya the password."

The elven warden sighed, but nodded in agreement before turning and leaving.

Alim found his way to the quartermaster's office. Talking to the assistant quartermaster proved fruitless, as he vehemently declined giving back the swords to the two soldiers he was punishing, despite Alim's attempts at persuasion. Finally the warden gave up and left. It was frustrating in that even though he was so far able to move around freely in the disguise, he was in a bind as long as he couldn't get past the guarded door leading to the main hall. And he knew it couldn't be long before someone discovered his cell and raised the alarm, so he couldn't afford to spend a lot of time on the subterfuge approach. It appeared that he was going to have to fight his way out after all.

-==0==-

"Tell me where they are keeping the Grey Warden!" Leliana hissed at the guard she had in a headlock with one of her daggers pressed against his throat. The other guards around the gate lay dead and Sten was attempting to smash the lock rather than find the key on one of the bodies.

"I-I w-will tell y-you if you l-let me l-live…" the guard stuttered, the fear in his voice palpable.

"Very well… speak quickly before I change my mind."

"The w-warden was taken to the cell b-block on the north side of the 2nd floor. B-but… they m-might have him in one of the… t-t-torture r-rooms. There is an entrance near the cell block that leads to the d-dungeon."

The bard gritted her teeth at the mention of torture, but grudgingly released her hold on the guard. "Get out of here and do not return tonight."

The guard began to backpedal away from his captor when he suddenly stopped and his eyes grew wide in shock. He looked down to see a blade sticking out of his stomach from behind, and when the blade was ripped back out he fell over dead.

"Zev!" exclaimed Leliana sharply. "I promised him we would let him live!"

Zev didn't look up to meet her glare as he wiped the blood off of his dagger. "No, you promised that _you_ would let him live."

"Why?" she asked, not understanding why the elf went ahead and killed the man.

"There will be no witnesses."

Leliana started to retort, but the lock gave way and the gates began to swing open. Soldiers in the courtyard were already in position, and both sides immediately engaged each other.

-==0==-

Alim peered around the corner into the foyer containing the doors he needed to pass through. The two guards were still in front of them, standing in place and appearing thoroughly bored with their jobs. He couldn't see them, but Alim suspected that the pair of archers was still in the room as well. Whispering his incantation softly from around the corner, the arcane warrior dropped a _grease_ spell right in the middle of the foyer, effectively covering the entire room.

"Wh-what the…" one of the guards exclaimed as he took a step before slipping and falling. The other guard stood his ground, but the two archers tried to move into firing position and fell as well. Alim had barely finished the _grease_ spell when he started on an _inferno_ that he placed right on top of it several seconds later. The foyer was immediately engulfed in flames, eliciting brief but loud screams of anguish from the guards caught in the fire. One of the archers ran out of the room towards him while attempting to beat out the flames with his now charred hands. The warden calmly raised his sword and ran the unsuspecting guard through. He then knelt down to check the body for keys or anything useful in getting him out of here.

Amidst the crackling of the burning fire dying down, Alim heard the doors in the foyer open and looked up to see more guards pouring through to investigate. Thinking quickly, the elf flashed them a steadfast glare and exclaimed, "The Grey Warden escaped! He's heading towards the commander's office, go after him!" Even though the dozen soldiers didn't recognize Alim, they accepted the command of what appeared to be one of their fellow soldiers at face value and took off down the hall in _pursuit_ of the Grey Warden. The elven warden had a hard time not laughing gleefully at his deception actually working, though he caught himself quickly and once again reminded himself to be careful. He moved into the now vacant main hall towards the doors that he remembered being the ones between the main hall and the entrance hall. He was getting close.

-==0==-

The fighting in the courtyard was fierce. The three warriors and stone golem formed a wedge as they pressed forward, clearing out space for the others to operate. Shale bashed anything within reach, occasionally snatching enemies off of their feet and throwing them as projectiles into other soldiers. The bard and the former assassin moved to the outer edges with their longbows, concentrating on picking off their enemy counterparts while avoiding soldiers coming at them with swords. Scorch was doing everything he could to keep attackers off of his mages. Wynne was on full time healing and buffing duty, trying to keep everyone on their feet in the face of the onslaught they were facing. Even still, Morrigan had to stop attacking at times to provide supplemental healing, and poultices were being drained in abundance. Finally they broke the enemy lines, scattering their formations and causing the fort's previously well coordinated fighting force to devolve into every man for himself chaos. Once they had them in that mode, the brutally efficient group of battle hardened companions tore through the remainder of the soldiers outside.

From there they made their push into the entrance hall inside the fort, where the resistance was even greater than in the courtyard, with approximately 30 of Fort Drakon's best soldiers. The sounds of combat outside had obviously drawn the large contingent of soldiers to the front, and they were ready to defend the fort from invasion. The soldiers descended swiftly on the group, archers covering the charge with suppressing fire that forced Alistair and company into a purely defensive formation. Wynne turned loose an _earthquake_ that knocked a majority of the soldiers down for a few moments, giving her companions an opportunity to establish better positions, while Morrigan fired _chain lightning_ and a _miasma_ spell that weakened the guards nearest the group. The party was fighting hard just to level the playing field, as currently it was all they could do to just not be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers they were facing. The odds of winning this one were not with them.

-==0==-

Alim cracked open the door to the entrance hall enough to briefly survey the situation, then just as quickly closed it. There were guards everywhere. He contemplated trying to bluff his way out still disguised as a guard, and had just about talked himself into it when he suddenly heard loud shouts coming from the room and what sounded like combat starting. _"Did the others come for me?" _

Regardless of what was causing the commotion, he decided that he wanted to go with the protection of his own armor instead of the Fort Drakon soldier armor. He ducked behind a storage platform in case anyone came by and hurriedly changed.

Alim took the time to cast every buffing spell on himself that he knew before jumping into the fray. In succession he cast _arcane shield_ followed by _shimmering shield_, _heroic offense, _and _spell wisp._ He drained a lyrium potion and then for good measure cast a _death siphon_ to help him recover mana by siphoning it from dead enemies and then _flaming weapons_ on to _Spellweaver _and _Vigilance_. Finally he cast _combat magic_, an arcane warrior spell he hadn't used in awhile. He was shocked to see himself turn white and transparent after casting the spell, as if he had become a Fade spirit.

"_I am as ready as I will ever be,"_ he sighed to himself solemnly. "_Maker guide my hand…"_

Pushing open the door, the scene before him was complete chaos. He could see at least some of his companions engaged with the soldiers. Not having been spotted yet, he cast a _grease_ and _inferno_ combo on to the highest concentration of enemy soldiers. Unfortunately for Alim, the flames roared right up to the door, meaning he was going to have to go through them in order to join the action.

"_Great…" _he thought sarcastically to himself. _"What a brilliant move that was!"_

While fishing another greater lyrium potion out of his bag, he noticed a couple of greater warmth balms that provided additional protection from fire even over what his drakeskin armor afforded. So he sucked down one of those in addition to the lyrium potion. Alim looked down briefly at the sword in his right hand and dagger in his left hand, both aflame. He wasn't dual wielding because he thought he was actually all that competent at it, rather he was walking blind into the situation and he didn't want to get caught by enemies from either side of him when he came out on the other side. And sustaining so many buff spells he had little mana left for spellcasting even after drinking lyrium potions. He took a deep breath, shaking his head as he cynically muttered aloud, "This is not going to end well…" before striding forward blindly into the blaze.

-==0==-

"Maker's…" Alistair began in awe.

"Breath!" gasped Leliana, finishing the former templar's thought for him. Even amidst the chaos and cacophony, the companions couldn't miss the surreal figure of Alim emerging through the fire and flames. It was an awe inspiring sight. He was a translucent white and the lingering flames licking at him seemed to have no effect. They exchanged shocked glances before regaining their focus and resuming fighting. The other companions did likewise as they took notice of the elven warden.

-==0==-

After emerging from the flames, Alim's eyes rapidly inventoried the situation. He saw approximately two dozen soldiers in a pincer formation, attempting to keep his companions hemmed in and flanked from both sides. He also saw a group of four archers close to his right firing on his friends, while three more archers were further away to his left. He spun, executing a backhand slash with his longsword while following through with a stab of his dagger against the archer closest to him. The stab paralyzed the archer, and Alim took advantage to spin around again and slash deeply into the neck of the stunned foe with _Spellweaver_. He wasn't strong enough to decapitate the archer like Sten or Oghren, or even Alistair would have, but it was plenty deep enough to kill him. Plunging ahead, he cast a _flame blast_ at the trio of archers now in front of him and then engaged them in melee, forcing them to deal with him rather than continuing to fire on his friends. Two of the archers managed to move away while he was engaged with the third, who was so terrified at the appearance of the _spirit warrior_ that he didn't put up much of a fight and fell quickly.

Alim turned to see the group of six soldiers engaged in a frontal assault on Sten, Oghren, and Alistair. He cast a _virulent walking bomb_ at the one closest to the middle, drained a greater lyrium potion, then cast a _stinging swarm_. It only took about ten seconds before the already wounded soldier exploded, wiping out the other five soldiers with him. The blast wounded his own companions as well, leaving Oghren and Sten in bad shape. Wynne immediately cast a _group heal_ on the lot of them, while the two warriors augmented her healing with greater health poultices. Alim cringed at the friendly fire damage he caused, hoping they would forgive him later.

One arrow slammed into Alim's shoulder while another simultaneously pierced his side. He grimaced painfully, eyes scanning to find the source. _"Ugh… I am going to get myself killed standing out here in the middle of everything… I am lucky not to have been targeted before now."_ A rough count revealed a captain and a dozen or so soldiers and archers still fighting.

"Behind you!" the elven warden suddenly heard Leliana yell. He didn't know if she was relaying that info to him or to one of the others, but he spun around anyway. Rapidly approaching the rear doors he had come through was the fort commander with what appeared to be a large number of soldiers in tow. Instinctively, Alim cut loose a _fireball_ that caught the commander in the chest right at the doorway and blasted him and the tightly clustered soldiers from their feet. Stalking towards them, the elf drained another lyrium potion and then went to one of his new favorite combos, placing a _force field_ on top of the commander and then detonating it with a _crushing prison_. The shockwave obliterated the already wounded troops, and the reverberation caused the doorway to collapse, crushing the captain underneath and sealing off that side of the fort. It was a fortunate break, since before the collapse the warden had seen even more soldiers racing to join the action. He took a moment to rip the arrows that he'd been shot with out of his body, painfully casting them aside before continuing to fight. Saving his last lyrium potion for desperation time, he instead engaged with his blades. _"You can do this… don't think, just let your body do what it knows…"_ he thought, silently encouraging himself. _"Do not die now…"_

The presence of the elven warden and the sight of him mowing down enemies inspired his companions, spurring them on to fight even harder. Morrigan, Wynne, and Shale worked in tandem, with the witch freezing enemies with _cone of cold_ and Shale slamming them to shatter them, or Wynne casting _stonefist_ to do the same when she wasn't healing or buffing the others. Shale also worked to keep foes from reaching her mage companions.

Leliana continued to work the periphery of the battle, supporting her melee fighters with well-placed arrows from her recurve longbow and singing her _song of courage_. Even in the nerve-wracking stress of battle (she never liked this part), equipping her bow never ceased to amuse her, because whenever she did her subconscious mind drifted to the silliness of its name and to her dearest one. For awhile after acquiring it she had continued to refer to the bow as _Marjolaine's Recurve_, but the rueful smile or frown that name always brought to her face finally caused Alim to gently suggest she give the bow a name to make it her own. She'd teased him that she would name the bow if _he_ came up with the name, and then a little while later he stunned her by coming back saying she should call it _Leliana's Song_. It was a name that had an elegant simplicity that she'd immediately fallen in love with.

Scorch moved in support of the bard's efforts, attacking soldiers that came near her so she could keep firing uninterrupted. Zev had switched from his bow to his twin daggers, working his way around while targeting archers specifically. He slowly but steadily helped whittle down the number of them, taking pressure off of his companions. The former assassin was the one companion that preferred to work independently of the others in a battle, and one of the many things he was grateful to Alim for was the warden's willingness to let the Antivan elf freelance on the battlefield. Zev often found himself taking actions that supported or complemented what his companions were doing, but other than being the designated _mage killer_, he was largely free to determine his own course of action. And he was a more effective fighter for it.

Alim slipped in behind the line of enemies that were engaged with Oghren and Alistair, casting a _mind blast_ that stunned the foes long enough to be greatly weakened by his companions. Joining the fray, the elf helped them finish off the group of soldiers. Sten was off to the side squared off with the captain, swinging his sword powerfully. His single-minded focus enabled him to overwhelm and kill the captain, but as he turned he realized he'd missed the soldier coming at him from behind and wasn't going to be able to get his sword in position to parry. He grimaced and prepared to receive the blow from the soldier's maul, however, brownish-black flash came from the side at the last moment and knocked the soldier down, overwhelming it. The Qunari's eyes widened in surprise, but only for a split second. Scorch shredded his opponent, swiftly ending him before leaping back up. Sten nodded in approval at the large Mabari warhound, who bore his own wounds from the battle yet still fought as ferociously as ever. Scorch barked in acknowledgement before tearing off in another direction.

The group systematically worked through the remaining enemies, and after finishing off the last of them Wynne cast a final _group heal_ to bring everyone's health back to some semblance of normal. With that out of the way, all eyes turned towards one person.

-==0==-

With the relief of apparently having survived Fort Drakon washing over him, Alim chuckled at the range of expressions on his companions' faces while he sheathed his weapons. Alistair appeared awestruck, Wynne and Sten, curious. Oghren looked leery, while Scorch sniffed at him suspiciously. Morrigan kept her expression guarded, as if she was trying to study him and figure out what he'd done. Shale looked disinterested, and Zev appeared patient, as if expecting an explanation to come. Lastly he glanced at Leliana. Her sapphire blue eyes were awash in emotion, but it seemed to be a swirling storm of emotions that contrasted with the blank expression she wore. Wiping the slight smirk from his face, he deactivated all of his buffing spells, his appearance returning to normal as the Fade shroud dissipated.

"Thank you for the rescue," Alim said softly.

Alistair scoffed sarcastically. "I suppose we could say the same thing. We were taking quite a beating before you showed up."

Morrigan waved her hand dismissively. "We can debate who rescued who later. I suggest we leave now before more guards show up."

"So how did you do that whole spirit thingy anyway?" Alistair asked as if he hadn't heard the witch. "Were you like, you know, possessed?"

"As if we didn't see enough sodding spirits in the Deep Roads," grumbled Oghren.

"Alistair!" Leliana scolded. "Save your questions until we are somewhere safe!"

"Let's go, we can talk later," replied Alim, agreeing with the others on the necessity of leaving the fort right away.

-==0==-

After Fort Drakon disappeared from view, the group began to relax somewhat as it made its way through the streets of Denerim back towards Arl Eamon's estate. Conversation was still light though as they maintained a state of high alert. There was no sense working so hard to get Alim out of Fort Drakon only to get caught unaware and jumped by bandits in some back alley along the way. Eventually they made it back to Eamon's place, and all expressed relief when they were finally behind the closed doors of the estate.

"Guys…" began Alim. "I cannot thank you enough for coming to get me. I… do not think I would have gotten out on my own."

Sten scoffed. "You were doing well enough for yourself, kadan."

Alistair agreed. "I'd say… if anything we got in the way."

Leliana raised an eyebrow curiously. "Sten, what does _kadan_ mean?"

The Qunari pondered the explanation for a moment. "It is the closest word we have to 'friend' in the Qunari language."

"You mean you don't have an actual word for friend?" she asked in amazement.

"No."

"That is… really… _strange_… so what does _kadan_ literally mean then in your language?"

"Something that we value highly."

Alim gulped slightly. Even though he'd heard Sten refer to him as that a few times, he never took the time to ask him what it meant. He'd assumed it was at least something positive, but he hadn't imagined it was anything like that. It was hard to fathom how far their relationship had come since Lothering.

"So how did you get that far in escaping anyway, Warden?" asked Oghren, steering the conversation back to the events at Fort Drakon. "I really didn't think you had it in you."

The elven warden told his story, filling them in on everything that happened from the time of his capture. How his first thought had been to wait for them to rescue him, but after even one torture session he realized he had to take matters into his own hands, that he wouldn't survive much more of it. He yawned in fatigue throughout the telling, and at the conclusion said, "I hope I do not seem ungrateful for what you all have done for me, but it is late and I am really beat… in more ways than one. If no one objects, I want to go to get cleaned up and go to bed."

While most of his companions nodded and spoke well wishes before departing for their own rooms, Alistair stayed behind. "We need to at least catch Arl Eamon up on what happened and let him know we're back. Let's do that before calling it a night, okay?"

Alim was silent for a moment before sighing in resignation. "Very w-"

"No," interrupted Leliana firmly. "Alistair, _you_ can fill the arl in on the basics without Alim. Tell him that Alim will see him in the morning to discuss what comes next."

Alistair flashed an incredulous glare, as if to ask why she thought it was _her_ decision to make. She silently met his glare with her own stern gaze. "Fine…" he grumbled after several seconds had elapsed. He didn't say anything else, but his irritated expression said enough as he turned to walk away.

Alim sighed again, rubbing his face tiredly. "No, wait, Alistair, I will go with you…"

Leliana grabbed the elf's arm before he could start after his fellow warden. "You will do no such thing," she warned in a low voice. "Let Alistair handle it. You will come with me, yes?"

Taking and releasing a deep breath, Alim nodded slowly. He was bothered that he couldn't quite get a handle on the bard's mood, but he trusted that her demand was for his benefit and not hers.

"Forget it, Alim," said Alistair. "We both know it's no use arguing with her at this point." He smirked sarcastically, waving a hand dismissively. The smirk was obviously a thinly veiled attempt to hide the contempt he felt at the moment. Leliana returned an uncompromising, unyielding stare that indicated Alistair needed to shut up and go about his business. Alim sighed softly, but allowed himself to be pulled by the bard in the direction of their bedroom.

-==0==-

Following Leliana into their room, Alim pushed the door closed with his foot while reaching out and clasping her around the waist, pulling her back towards him. He embraced her tightly from behind, resting his forehead on her back, the light scent of the conditioning oil rubbed into her drakeskin armor wafting into his nostrils. He exhaled deeply in equal parts relief and exhaustion. So much had transpired that it was hard for him to believe it was the same day he'd set out to rescue Queen Anora.

"Lel?" he asked softly when several moments went by in silence. She had made no effort to turn and return the embrace, nor had she pulled away. "Why do you seem the least happy of everyone to see me back?"

Leliana closed her eyes. Her nerves were frazzled, and just in the last several hours alone her emotions had run the gamut of surprise, fear, disgust, anger, hope, doubt, relief, joy, love, insecurity, possessiveness, and protectiveness. She was a mess and knew she needed just a little bit of time to sort through it all in her mind. So even though she knew it was unfair to Alim not to answer, she simply patted his hands a couple of times before prying them off of her. In a somewhat detached tone she replied, "You are rank. I will draw a bath for you," and began walking towards the washroom without looking back.

Taken aback by her reaction, the elf didn't know what to say. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out. Finally, he shook his head and irritably blurted out, "Why are you behaving like this?"

Pivoting on the balls of her feet, the agile rogue impulsively spun in the blink of an eye and delivered a right cross to the elf's chin that he never saw coming, snapping his head to the side and knocking him on his rear. Grabbing his chin and unconsciously working it side to side to confirm his jaw wasn't broken, Alim stared at Leliana in disbelief over what she'd just done, seeing the emotion she'd been masking now on full display. He leaned forward to start to stand, only to have her step forward and roughly push him back down with one of her boots. His own anger flared at how she was treating him, but before he could protest she sat down across his thighs and then put a hand on each shoulder and forcefully shoved him all the way down on to his back. He hissed from the impact of his head hitting the floor.

"You are angry now, yes?" she asked sharply.

Alim gritted his teeth, the answer more than obvious. "Why are you-"

"Do _not_ put me through this again!" she exclaimed, her voice crackling with emotion that she was struggling to maintain control over. Her tone expressed bitterness, but her eyes were pleading.

The elf studied her expression for what seemed like minutes but was only a few seconds. He gulped in realization that the source of her anger was fear… of losing _him_. He closed his eyes and sighed softly. "I'm-"

His words were cut off instantly by Leliana's mouth covering his, kissing him with an intensity he'd never seen out of her before. Utterly confused, his mind didn't let him give into the moment of passion, something the bard soon realized when Alim wasn't really responding to the assault of her lips and tongue. She pulled back and smirked at the look of bewilderment on his face, though the effect was largely lost due to the tears she was shedding. "I warned you about not coming back safely, no?" she asked, her voice a hoarse whisper. She tried to giggle, but crying it came out more like hiccups. "I-I… was so shaken… and then when we broke into Fort Drakon… there were too many soldiers… I… I… fought so hard to get to you… b-b-but…" She gulped for air, then in a quiet voice admitted, "I-I did not think we would be able to…" Leliana began shuddering, clinging to her warden tightly for support while burying her face into the crook of his neck and sobbing.

"Shhhh…" Alim whispered gently, lightly running his fingers through her sweat matted hair. The redhead was nearly as grungy as he was, though it mattered little to him. "It's okay… we made it. The Maker preserved us."

Leliana continued her confession anyway. "When you joined the battle, you were so powerful… I felt… guilty for doubting myself, for not being strong enough… and… I was jealous afterwards of the adulation you received from the others and the attention you gave them… I just wanted to take you away and keep you for myself… and… then I felt insecure that you didn't really need us… me… anymore."

"Lel…"

"No, Alistair was right. We just complicated things by being there, you would have been better off if we had not come."

Alim pulled her head up to force her to make eye contact. "_No_, Lel. Stop talking like that," he said firmly. "It might have appeared like that from your perspective, but I was _scared_, Lel. I was lucky to get as far as I did. I need you more than you know... I cannot do this without my friends, without _you_."

The bard's eyes searched his, desperately looking for any hint that he was only telling her what she wanted to hear. Not sensing any patronizing or placating intent, she sighed audibly in relief. "I love you so much…" she whispered. "I know I do not say it enough, but I really do."

Smiling, Alim shook his head. "The words are nice, but you do not need to say them for me to know. You show it all the time through your eyes, your expressions, your actions."

Leliana giggled slightly. "Even sucker punches?"

Alim laughed lightly in response. "Perhaps not. You can make that up to me though." His eyes twinkled in mischief.

"Oh? You look like you have something in mind."

"You know that bath you were going to draw for me?"

Leliana nodded.

"Join me?"

Grinning widely, she replied, "_Indeed_."

-==0==-

"Lel?" Alim whispered softly to the woman in his arms. "Are you still awake?"

"Mmmm… barely…" she mumbled. "What is it, my dearest one?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking. When you insisted to Alistair that I not go with him to see Arl Eamon, the reaction between the two of you seemed unusually… tense. Was there something more going on there?"

Leliana yawned tiredly. "Alim… be wary of Eamon, please. He was adamant that Alistair not risk himself participating in your rescue. I admit that I selfishly wanted you to myself earlier, but I also didn't think the man that would not spare even a single one of his own soldiers to rescue you deserved to impose on you further tonight."

"The arl does seem to have an agenda. Truthfully I am wary of all of these nobles, I do not trust any of their motives. Thank you though for looking out for me."

"Of course, my love." Rolling to her other side, she mumbled, "get some sleep, we have another busy day ahead of us." Moments later Alim heard the soft steady breathing of her sleeping. Smiling, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep himself.


	11. Chapter 11

"Cold?" asked Leliana, her tone light with amusement. She and Alim were getting dressed to go to breakfast and then afterwards to meet with Arl Eamon and presumably Queen Anora. While Alim was going with a casual appearance of black cotton pants and a maroon and black long sleeved shirt that Leliana had purchased for him during their last stop in Denerim, he decided not to forego his hooded cloak. He'd just finished attaching _Vigilance_ to his belt and pulling the hood up over his head when she commented.

"You know I do not like the negative attention my appearance tends to provoke," he replied with a tinge of resignation in his voice. "Even if the arl's staff won't make comments in front of me, they will still gawk and talk about me once I have left."

The bard sighed. "I wish others saw you the way your friends do… the way _I_ do."

Alim paused. "Maybe… but then again, it took me trying to leave the group for you guys to stop making fun of my appearance, and except for Zev you all had traveled and fought alongside me for many months."

"I… yes… you are right. I still wish that had not happened."

Alim waved his hand dismissively. "It is not something I will forget, but it is also long forgiven. I only brought it up to illustrate my point. I wish circumstances were different, because I know it bothers you that I usually hide much of my face under my hood unless we are alone."

"What makes you think it bothers me?"

"Well… you tend to tease me a bit about it, like earlier asking me if I was cold. Or sometimes you will say the cloak does not go with whatever I am wearing, and so on. I have figured out it is your way of saying you wish I would not wear it."

Leliana smirked. "I think you may have learned too much from me about reading people."

The elven warden laughed. "It is hard not to pick up a few things when you are around the best in the trade. Anyway, I will… consider… subjecting myself to the stares and comments that come from showing my face in public. Though you know people will assume I cast some kind of spell that keeps you around. And I will have to tell them that no, you are just naturally crazy." He stuck out his tongue playfully.

Even though she knew he was joking around, her expression turned serious. "Not crazy, just someone that understands there is much more to you than what is seen on the outside. I have said it before, but truthfully, in many ways you are the most beautiful person I have ever known."

Alim sighed. In a soft voice he replied, "Forget other people, I wish _I _could see myself the way you do. I know you believe what you say, but I am not sure I will ever understand it."

"Come, let's go eat." Leliana knew there was no use in saying anything further on the current topic. They'd had similar conversations a number of times, and while Alim didn't doubt her sincerity at all, he still struggled with self-esteem. He could never see in himself the things she saw in him, no matter how she tried to explain. She knew it was hard to undo the lifetime of systematic attacks to his self-worth that he'd faced, but she was also determined to keep fighting to do just that.

-==0==-

Breakfast in the dining hall was an upbeat affair, the mood light as Alim, Leliana, Zevran, Oghren, and Alistair bantered back and forth while eating. The source of the relieved mood went largely unspoken as very little was said of the previous day, but it was readily apparent nonetheless. Eventually the conversation shifted towards making plans for the next couple of days leading up to the Landsmeet.

"We'll have a better idea of how to prepare for the Landsmeet after talking to Arl Eamon this morning," offered Alistair. "Anora might have some ideas as well, if we can trust her."

"You do not think she is trustworthy?" asked Leliana.

Alistair sighed. "She is her father's daughter, or so I've heard."

"What does that mean?" Alim asked.

"That she's ambitious, and just like her father she believes she's the only one who can fix things and thinks everyone should just get out of her way and let her do whatever she thinks is right."

Alim nodded. "If you become the king, what does it matter?"

"She is not going to simply step aside without a fight. And I don't even want to be king anyway."

Grinning, Leliana teased, "Do not let Arl Eamon hear you say that, unless you want another lecture about it."

Alistair sighed deeply. "I wish for once in my life it would actually be my choice what I do or don't do."

"I am right there with you on that, my friend" replied Alim softly, looking up and meeting Alistair's gaze. The brothers-in-arms nodded to each other in silent understanding. Despite their very different upbringings, Alim and Alistair had a lot in common in this regard. Leliana frowned slightly as she observed the brief non-verbal communication pass between the Grey Wardens, but didn't speak up.

"Cry me a sodding river, Wardens!" Oghren declared snidely. "Destiny calls _you_, not the other way around. Running away to open your own nug farm and wasting your days twirling your pike doesn't change what you're here for."

Leliana and Zevran laughed. "In a twisted sort of way, that was actually rather profound," said the Antivan elf.

Changing the subject, Zevran mentioned that he'd heard the elven alienage in town was no longer closed off. "Really?" asked Alim. "Hmmm…" His expression changed to one of contemplation.

"What is it?" asked Leliana.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, sorry…"

"I know that look. You have something on your mind."

Alim grinned. "Maybe so, but it is not important right now. Anyway, Zev, where did you hear about the alienage?"

The former assassin grinned in response, a not so innocent expression forming. "I was talking to Erlina this morning, she told me."

"Erlina, as in Queen Anora's handmaiden?" Alistair asked suspiciously.

"Just talking, yes?" asked Leliana, grinning wickedly.

Zev laughed. "This _morning_, yes… talking. Last night was perhaps another story."

"You know she is a bard, yes? She was pumping you for information just as much as you were her."

"I don't think _information_ is what he was pumping her for," grumbled Oghren. "Sodding thin stone used for the walls in this place. Shoulda known taking the room next to him was a bad idea."

Alistair shook his head incredulously. "How could you possibly have had the energy for _that_ last night, after all we went through yesterday? And with the queen's handmaiden no less! I went to sleep almost right after we all went our separate ways. What about you, Alim?"

The elven warden coughed in surprise, blushing slightly as he suddenly found the food on his plate especially interesting. "I… well… I… ummm… took a bath." Leliana's failed attempt to stifle her giggles made him blush even more. Alistair shook his head again. "Must be an elf thing…" he muttered in disbelief, drawing laughter from his companions.

A little while later, Zevran asked Alim if he still had that templar's ring that the guy in Howe's dungeon gave them. "Sure," replied Alim, "why?"

"Show it to Leliana," Zev explained. "It is a long shot, but as a former sister she might recognize at least where it came from."

"It is back in the room, but I can do that in a bit."

"What's this ring you are talking about?" Leliana asked curiously.

Alim sighed. "We found the templar that had captured Jowan. Apparently Loghain's men had to free Jowan from him before putting their plot against Arl Eamon into motion. Anyway, the templar was delirious, suffering badly from lyrium withdrawal while imprisoned in Arl Howe's dungeon, but he gave me his ring and asked me to find and give it to his sister if I could. Alf… Alfansa? Alfana?"

"Alfstanna," Zev corrected.

"That is it," Alim agreed. "No idea how we will ever find her though, all we have is a ring and a name."

Leliana's eyes opened wide. "Bann Alfstanna?"

"That's right!" exclaimed Alistair. "The Gnawed Noble Tavern!"

"You know her?" Alim asked, looking at his friends dubiously.

"We met her yesterday," Leliana explained. "She is in Denerim for the Landsmeet! There were quite a few nobles killing time in the tavern yesterday, perhaps they will be again today."

Alim smiled. "That is great then, we can get her the ring back and let her know where her brother is."

Alistair suggested they finish up and go see the arl and queen. He, Alim, and Leliana were just about to get up when the door to the dining hall swung open.

"Leliana," stated Morrigan, striding into the room at a brisk pace. The companions sitting at the table all turned their attention to the raven haired witch. "Are you free this morning? I would ask you to accompany me to the markets if you are."

"Hey!" exclaimed Oghren. "I took you yesterday, wasn't that good enough?"

Morrigan glared slightly at the dwarf before explaining to the bard, "I tried to go yesterday, but my patience with the one who went with me ran out long before I was done, and I was forced to quit early lest I kill him."

"Well, fart me a lullaby!" Oghren declared. "Just because I asked to borrow a sovereign to buy the head of an adulterer preserved in honey?"

Morrigan pinched the bridge of her nose in visible annoyance. "'Twas only the final straw. But I accept responsibility for my mistake. I should have taken the statue instead."

Leliana was torn. On the one hand she wanted to be around for the planning discussions that would be taking place, which she expected to take most of the morning. On the other hand, it was exceedingly difficult for her to turn down a request to go shopping. Alim saw the brief look of consternation on her face and chuckled lightly, earning a knowing glare from the redhead. "Go," he whispered, nodding in the direction of Morrigan. "Have fun, I will be here when you get back."

"Promise?" she asked.

When Alim nodded in confirmation, Leliana turned and told Morrigan that she'd go with her to shop.

"Take Scorch with you, please," Alim added. "Not that you girls cannot take care of yourselves, of course, but I know he will keep an eye out while you are distracted."

Leliana giggled while Morrigan rolled her eyes. But truthfully, the witch didn't mind. She liked the hound a lot more than she let on. And there were certainly far worse companions, as she'd rediscovered yesterday.

"Zev?" asked Alim. "I would like you to scout out the alienage, see what all is going on there. Nothing too in depth, just get a feel for things."

Zev nodded. "Anything in particular you want to know about?"

"Not really. The alienage has been closed off for at least six months, and there must be more to it than a simple riot. We rescued that guy Soris in Arl Howe's dungeon, if you track him down maybe he would be a useful lead to some inside information. But like I was saying, just high level recon, do not get too involved with anything. I am sure a group of us will be making a trip over there before we leave Denerim anyway."

After Alim walked off with Alistair to go see the arl, Leliana turned to Zev. "Do me a favor while you are in the alienage. See what you can find out about Alim's family."

"Family?" the Antivan elf asked curiously. Morrigan raised an eyebrow curiously as well.

"Yes, he told me that he was born here in the Denerim alienage. He was taken to the Circle when he was only three and has no recollection of his parents, but it is possible that they still live there."

Zev nodded. "Does he have any brothers or sisters, or extended family?"

"He… does not know. Truthfully he knows nothing of his family. From what Alim has told me, he never had any contact from the outside growing up. No letters, no visitors, nothing. Apparently he asked about his family a few times, but was only told that no correspondence had ever come for him."

Morrigan crossed her arms. "Think carefully before you decide to surprise him with something. Consider that he may very well not want to meet his so-called _family_ at this point."

The bard frowned, the thought hadn't occurred to her. It seemed like such a natural thing to want. Finally she nodded. "See what you can find out, Zev, and we can decide from there what to do with that knowledge."

-==0==-

"Maker's breath!" exclaimed Arl Eamon at the sight of Alim and Alistair approaching. "Alistair told me you were back, but it is good to see you in one piece, my friend. We were worried about your safety."

Alim rolled his eyes. _"Obviously not worried enough to send help. Not to mention trying to keep Alistair from helping me."_

Ignoring the arl, the elven warden turned his attention to the queen, who was standing next to Eamon. "Your Majesty, were you able to make it back without incident? Are you okay?"

"I… yes, thank you," Anora replied, smiling in pleasant surprise. "I was unsure how you would respond under the circumstances, but truly we prayed for your safe return."

Alim nodded solemnly. "Well, your handmaiden was unfortunately correct about the torture part. My friends got me out of there not a minute too soon."

"Stop being so modest, Alim," replied Alistair, smirking. "I already told them how you almost single-handedly wiped out a battalion at Fort Drakon."

"An exaggeration…"

"Nevertheless," Anora interjected, "we must work together now and quickly. My father has gone mad. His paranoia is so severe he cannot see reason."

"Did he know you were being held against your will at the Arl of Denerim estate?"

Anora nodded sadly. "He saw me as a threat… even now I'm sure he will be telling the other nobles that you are dangerous murderers that have kidnapped and brainwashed me. He may even believe it…"

Alim sighed. "What happened to him? I mean, he left King Cailan, his son-in-law, to die at Ostagar. Has he been positioning himself to take the reins of Ferelden for longer than that even?"

"I think Howe was a powerfully bad influence. His death can only be a good thing, though it won't be enough. I know my father, and he is committed to this course. Our only hope is to defeat him at the Landsmeet, and you will need ammunition to do so. I can help with that."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Denerim has been in turmoil since Ostagar, many people are angry or grieving. But for some reason the unrest has been the worst in the alienage. It does not make sense as few elves were in the army that went to Ostagar. I can only figure that my father and Howe have their hands in what has gone on there."

Arl Eamon raised an eyebrow curiously. "That is a useful lead, Anora, but you could have sent that information with your maid instead of coming here yourself."

"In addition to fearing for my life, I sent Erlina because I hoped that we could join forces. You need that evidence for the Landsmeet, but you also need a stronger candidate for the throne. You need me."

Alim glanced over at Alistair, who wore a neutral expression. The unspoken exchange wasn't lost on the others. "Anora," began Eamon, "It it true that you are Cailan's widow, but Alistair is of the Theirin bloodline."

"I am sure Alistair is biddable enough, but blood alone does not make a king. You think only I can see that? My father will eat him alive at the Landsmeet. Not only that, but Alistair is a Grey Warden and you will be seen as trying to put a Grey Warden on the throne, despite your claims. I am a neutral party, and I am already queen. And who do you think ruled this country the last five years, Cailan?"

Arl Eamon sighed. 'I am sympathetic to your situation, Anora, but-"

"Warden, please consider what I have said," Anora said, interrupting Eamon before he could finish his thought. "I think I will retire to my room now. Warden, when you have a moment I would ask that you come speak to me in private." With that, she nodded to Erlina at the back of the room and the pair left the room.

-==0==-

"I cannot help but think she may be trouble," said Eamon. "But we should keep her close all the same."

"Why do you think she will be trouble?" asked Alim.

Eamon flashed a stern gaze. "This is an alliance of convenience. Be careful how must trust you place in her. She will not give up her power easily. She will resist Alistair's claim to the throne."

Alistair rolled his eyes at the mention of his becoming king. "She'd be a better monarch than me anyway."

"We are _not_ having this discussion again, Alistair," Eamon stressed in a fatherly tone.

"She does have a big advantage in experience," Alim suggested.

"Alistair will do fine. He may not be experienced at ruling, but he knows who to turn to when he needs help."

Alim's face twitched in response, and he was thankful that his hood covered his expression. He didn't like what the arl was implying. When the elf didn't reply right away, Eamon continued, "You should go see Anora. She will either be a powerful ally or a powerful enemy, and the sooner we know which the better."

Nodding, Alim gestured to Alistair. "Can you help me out with something real quick before I pay the queen a visit?" The former templar looked at his friend quizzically, but nodded and followed him out into the hall.

-==0==-

"What do you need help with?" Alistair asked as he caught up with his fellow warden in the hall. The pair hung a right after leaving the arl's study and strolled down the long hallway towards the wing of the estate where most of the guest rooms where, including the ones where the wardens and their companions were being put up.

Alim chuckled lightly. "Nothing really… I just wanted to talk to you alone."

"Oh? Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

"I did not wish to invite questions or suspicions from Arl Eamon."

"What do you mean?"

The elf sighed gently. "Have you not noticed that whether it was at Castle Redcliffe or here, the arl tends to keep tabs on everything you do and is rather… mmm… _inquisitive_?"

Alistair snorted cynically, answering "I think you mean _nosy_," before sighing himself. "Yeah… I know he means well, but it can be annoying."

"Leliana told me he strongly opposed you coming to rescue me."

"Yeah," Alistair replied softly, his lips turning downward in a frown. "He thought it was too risky this close to the Landsmeet."

Alim raised an eyebrow curiously. "Was his concern for _you _or for the potential political blowback?"

The older warden shook his head. "He is a good man, Alim," he said simply, "a good man trying to manage a difficult situation."

"You know him better than I do," the elf admitted. Arriving at Alim's room, the pair went inside and sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"So what was it you needed to talk about in private?"

Alim pulled down his hood, wanting his friend to be able to meet his gaze. "We are at a crossroads, my friend, and what you and I decide right here will be a defining moment for the future of Ferelden."

Alistair laughed. "Ooh, how dramatic! Did Leliana give you that line?" Alim laughed along with his friend.

"I am afraid not, but you are right… that was a bit much. In all seriousness, I need you to be completely forthcoming now. Do you wish to be king or not?"

Alistair flashed a look of surprise at the question before his expression turned contemplative. After a minute or so of silence, he sighed deeply. "That is the million sovereign question, isn't it?" Alim nodded, careful to keep his own expression neutral as to not influence his friend's answer.

Sighing again a few moments later, the former templar shook his head. "I do not. I _really_… do not. But I am resigned to doing it anyway since it's not like I'm not being given a choice."

Alim carefully considered his next words. "Alistair… the only one trying to force you upon the throne is Arl Eamon. You know I love you like a brother and would support you completely if that is what _you_ wanted."

Alistair, who had been staring at the floor in front of him, glanced back up at the elf with a questioning look. "What are you saying?"

The elven warden took a deep breath and exhaled audibly. "That I believe we should back Anora, assuming we can get certain concessions from her such as no amnesty for Loghain."

Alistair whistled in astonishment. "You think?"

"Yes, but I need your thoughts on it. Like I said, I would support your candidacy completely if that is what you want. But if it is not, if you would rather be the warden commander of Ferelden or whatever else, then I think we should support the queen instead. Anora has proven herself capable, and honestly… I think it would be difficult for you to be an effective monarch if your heart was not in it. That is true of anyone really." He left unspoken his fear that Alistair would be little more than a figurehead, a puppet king having his strings pulled from the shadows.

"I…" began Alistair somberly before his expression suddenly perked up. "Warden Commander, really?" he asked in surprise, as if this was the first he'd ever entertained the idea. The gleam in his eyes told Alim that the former templar rather liked the prospect.

Grinning, Alim nodded. "It seems that it would be either you or me, no? And I am certainly willing to defer that honor to you."

After a few moments of silence, Alistair began to laugh. Shaking his head, he grinned mischievously. "You know this bombshell might put Arl Eamon back in a coma when he finds out?" The mental image made Alim laugh as well.

After the laughter died down, Alim's expression turned serious. "I want this to be _our_ decision, not just mine. So… if you have any lingering doubts, tell me now. I will not jeopardize our friendship for her. If you want the throne I will do everything in my power to secure it for you. But if you tell me you do not, once I talk to Anora and give her my word that we will support her, I will not take it back."

Alistair flashed a genuine smile, one that expressed a significant amount of relief. "I couldn't ask for a better friend than you, Alim. Thank you for not pushing me to be something I have no desire to be. Let's back Anora at the Landsmeet."

The elven warden grinned. "Well, remember what you said just now when the arl is subjecting you to a verbal beating over this and you are mentally cursing my existence."

Alistair returned the mischievous grin. "Of course, how could I not remember my _best_ friend, the one who was so considerate that he took the heat off me by being the one to tell Arl Eamon?" Alim and Alistair laughed easily together, enjoying the light-hearted moment together in an otherwise stressful time. "Fair enough," Alim finally replied, "Assuming it goes well with the queen, I will tell the arl."

-==0==-

"Warden, please come in." The elven handmaiden ushered Alim into the sitting room of the queen's suite. "The queen will be pleased that you've come."

Turning to his fellow elf after she closed the door behind him, something he'd briefly wondered before came to mind. "Hey, Erlina, you are an Orlesian bard, right?"

"I am, but you already know this, yes?"

Alim nodded. "I was wondering… did you know Leliana back in Orlais?"

Erlina searched the Grey Warden's eyes, trying to read the intent behind the question. "It would be more accurate to say I knew her reputation than I knew her personally. We served a different bardmasters."

"What was her reputation like?"

Considering her words carefully, Erlina replied, "Dangerous. Talented. Effective in all manners of the game. Beyond that you should ask her. It is not my place to tell."

The warden smiled. "Leliana's background is not a secret to me. She has told me many stories, and she is not proud of everything in her past. I was asking just because you are the first person I have met that knew her in her old life."

"Old life?" Erlina asked curiously.

"It is not my place to tell her story either, but I can say that while Leliana willingly did what she did back in Orlais, she also was manipulated and then betrayed by Marjolaine. She is a different person than she once was."

"Marjolaine was feared for good reason. She was not one to be trusted, consequently those who worked for her were viewed the same. It sounds like Leliana found that out the hard way. I doubt anyone shed tears when Marjolaine was found dead."

Alim grinned. "Well, thank you for not holding it against me."

Erlina raised an eyebrow quizzically, studying his expression. She realized that he was saying that he'd killed the bardmaster. News of her death had spread quickly through the information networks, but the killer had remained a mystery. Not that people were going out of their way to find out. "You are certainly full of surprises," she said with a slight smile.

"I thought I heard voices out here!"

Alim and Erlina turned towards Queen Anora entering from her bedroom. "Forgive me for not getting you sooner, my lady," began Erlina. "The warden was asking me about a mutual acquaintance."

Anora waved her hand, assuring her handmaiden that it was of no concern. "Thank you for coming, Warden. I… hoped that you would, but was unsure."

"Please, Your Majesty, and for that matter you too, Erlina, call me Alim."

"Very well, and you may call me Anora at informal settings such as this." Alim nodded, smiling. He knew she had an ulterior motive for going out of her way to be friendly, but he appreciated the effort nevertheless.

"Alim… I will not beat around the bush. I can tell that your voice will be a powerful, influential one in the days to come. I ask for your support for my throne."

The elven warden had no interest in playing mind games with the queen, but he needed this to be a two-way street and needed to know he could trust her not to simply use him to advance her own cause. He unconsciously began to pace, and while he did the queen went and sat down on a couch. After several moments of silence, Alim cleared his throat and began to speak. "Forgive my bluntness, Anora, but I have to ask… can I trust you?"

"Wh-what kind of question is that?" she asked incredulously.

"You have a reputation as a strong, capable ruler. But you also have a reputation as someone who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. I need you to tell me to my face that you will be completely forthright and honest with me."

"To your face?" Anora scoffed, still irritated at having her trustworthiness challenged. "Says the man who hides his under a hood?"

Alim took and released a deep breath. "You wish to see my face?"

"It would be a start, since we are questioning each other's credibility."

Standing a few feet in front of the queen, Alim stared into her eyes while lifting his hood back and off of his head. Anora gasped lightly before covering her mouth with her hand. Her eyes still gave away her shock at his appearance.

The queen's reaction caused Alim's anger to flare, and despite his better judgment he dropped quickly to one knee in front of her and snatched her wrist, pulling her hand away from her mouth.

Erlina immediately stepped towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Release her," she warned.

Ignoring the elven bard, Alim maintained firm eye contact and his hold on Anora's wrist while pulling her hand up to physically touch his mangled ear. He could feel her trembling slightly.

Erlina gave his shoulder a squeeze to remind him she was there. "Unhand her, Alim, I will not ask again."

Letting go of Anora's wrist, the warden said softly, "This is why I wear a hood. It has _nothing_ to do with trying to deceive anyone and _everything_ to do with the reactions my souvenirs from Ostagar provoke."

Anora gulped slightly, and Alim noticed that she didn't immediately pull her hand back as he expected her to. Instead, she dragged her fingernails down from his ear, lightly tracing the deep scar across his cheek to his chin before slowly folding her hands back in her lap. "Ostagar…" she whispered in acknowledgment. The warden could see the sadness in her eyes.

"Your father abandoned us to _die_," Alim whispered back while still kneeling mere inches from Anora, fighting to keep the hostility he felt towards Loghain out of his tone. "Alistair and I were among the fortunate few that managed to survive anyway. As you can see, I did not exactly make it out unscathed."

"I… I am sorry… both for insulting you with my behavior just now… and for what happened at Ostagar."

Sighing, Alim stood up and took a couple of steps back, putting a physical distance between himself and the queen that was more comfortable for all parties in the room. Erlina moved back to her customary position further back, standing at quiet attention while keenly observing everything. "We hold no blame for you, Anora," Alim began, "your father's actions were his, not yours."

"I may not have given the command for his forces to retreat, but as queen the responsibility ultimately lies with me for any decisions made by people whom I've given authority."

Alim looked at the queen curiously, and he realized from her steadfast expression that she actually meant what she said and was not simply paying lip service. His opinion of her went up from her willingness to take responsibility rather than washing her hands of it.

"Nevertheless," Anora continued, "I believe I am what Ferelden needs right now. No offense to Alistair, but reality is a weak king who does not even want the throne will cause division and in-fighting at a time we can ill afford it." The queen began to reiterate her qualifications when Alim waved his hand and shook his head, indicating she should stop.

"Anora, some would say I am naïve at best to approach you the way I am, but I have no inclination to play games of political intrigue. I speak plainly, with no hidden agenda, and you can trust my word. I ask that you afford me the same respect." The queen nodded. She was unsure of his point, but silently prompted him to continue.

"The Blight is real, despite what many seem to think. We have seen the archdemon in the Deep Roads with our own eyes. Alistair and I are sworn to defend Ferelden from it, and to do so we need the country to be united behind us and not engaged in civil war."

"That is why you should support _me_ to remain on the throne," Anora interjected. "I can-"

"Please… let me finish," Alim said, holding up his hand to interrupt the queen. "Though I am inexperienced with politics, I see that the push to place Alistair on the throne comes from the person who stands to gain the most from it. I believe Arl Eamon is sincere in his belief of maintaining the Theirin bloodline, but I also believe he is more politically ambitious than he lets on and knows that Alistair would be an _inexperienced_ king without the desire to assert himself in that role." Alim emphasized _inexperienced_ in direct contrast to Anora's assertion of _weak_. "I have known Alistair for more than a year now. He is noble, honorable, loyal, determined. You would be hard pressed to find a better man, nor could you ask for a better friend. But when Alistair leads, it is only out of necessity. He is a natural follower and prefers it that way. He has never asked to be king, nor does he want to. What he _does_ want is what I want… the best chance for Ferelden to defeat the Blight and to recover afterwards. Much of the southern lands are overrun or in ruin, and there is no guarantee that the northern lands will be spared the effects of the Blight."

Alim could see that Anora was a bit on edge, not knowing quite where he was going with his long-winded buildup. He could tell that she wanted him to hurry up and get to the point. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "That all said, Alistair and I agree that you are the one to lead Ferelden."

Anora's expression softened in visible relief. She knew that she could make it difficult for Alistair to take the throne, but she also knew that she very well might not have enough backing to win it outright for herself without the Grey Warden's support. "I… I admit I did not expect you to be so agreeable to my position," she said softly, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. "And you say you have no hidden agenda in offering your support?"

Grinning, the elven warden replied, "I will tell you the same as I told the dwarves. Our concern is with obtaining the necessary support to defeat the Blight. Neither Alistair nor myself have any desire to get involved in politics."

"But you helped the dwarves resolve their own issue of succession, did you not?"

"You know about that?"

"King Bhelen has already sent representatives to Denerim to open the lines of communication."

"Yes, well, much like the situation here, we were forced to help stabilize their throne in order to unite them and gain their support against the Blight. And just like how Alistair does not want to be king of Ferelden, I did not want to be king of Orzammar." He flashed a crooked grin.

"Wait… king of… Orzammar? You?" Anora's expression turned confused.

Alim laughed at her reaction. "Long story, but yes, in the end I could very well have become their king if I wanted to."

"But… you are an _elf_!" she blurted out, her expression of bewilderment comical to the warden.

"Which tells you how bad things were there. What started as a joke made by one of my companions resulted in me standing in front of their Assembly holding their crown in my hands, with full authority to place it on whoever I chose. Albeit sarcastically, their only two living paragons said I could be king for all they cared, and the two candidates for the throne were thought so little of that there was even a groundswell of support for me from the dwarven commoners. I cannot describe to you how ridiculous the whole thing was."

Anora shook her head. "I… that does sound…" She paused as she tried to find the right word, one that described how nonsensical it sounded without insulting the warden.

Alim waved his hand, laughing. "You can say what you are thinking. I thought the same thing to be honest. But my point in telling you this is that neither Alistair nor myself crave power. You need not fear that I am telling you one thing only to do another. When I give my word I stand by it."

The queen smiled at the warden that was far more charismatic than she'd have ever thought given his physical stature and appearance. "Are you giving me your word then, that I have your support?"

Nodding, Alim replied, "I do need to know what you plan to do with regards to your father though. I would not characterize it as a string attached to my support, but you must know that we seek justice not only for what was done at Ostagar, but for smearing the name of the Grey Wardens and the repeated assassination attempts against us."

Anora sighed deeply. "I know my father is not the same man he once was and that justice is due, but still… I would wish for him to live if possible. He has done too much for Ferelden to have a traitor's death as his end."

Alim rubbed his face in frustration. "You understand that is an exceedingly difficult concession for me to make?"

"I understand. And truthfully he is just as likely to make it impossible to let him live anyway. But if he is willing to abide by the decision of the Landsmeet and to make amends for his actions, I would ask that you allow him to."

The elven warden fell silent. His conflicted expression was obvious to the queen. "_Please…_" she added softly for emphasis. After a minute of contemplation, Alim exhaled audibly. "I will agree to afford Loghain an honorable path should he be willing to accept it, whether to redemption or death. But if he is unwilling, I will not hesitate to kill him."

"I suppose that chance is all I can ask for."

"If your father ends up dying by my hand, will it change your support for us?"

The queen contemplated this briefly before shaking her head slowly. "If you are able to keep your word and set aside your personal feelings on the matter enough to give him a chance, then I shall do the same if he cannot be convinced to acquiesce. You have my word, Alim."

Alim nodded, and a brief silence settled over the room. Anora then asked, "I trust that Alistair will be willing to formally renounce any claims to the throne for himself or any future offspring?"

A slight smirk darkly crept across the warden's face at the queen's request. _"Politics…" _he thought to himself derisively. _"Obtain power and then secure it." _Anora saw his expression change and realized what he must be thinking. "I assure you, Alim, this is no power play. The harsh reality is that if the matter of succession is not clearly resolved, we risk Ferelden being right back in this same dilemma, if not from nobles who would find Alistair more bendable to their will, then once I pass on."

"I… that makes sense, forgive me for questioning your motives."

"I understand it is difficult for both of us to place our faith in the other, but I am taking your words at face value and ask that you do the same."

"Of-of course, forgive me…" Alim replied. Anora nodded, patiently waiting for him to give his answer.

"It makes sense for Alistair to renounce his claim in order to put to rest any potential division, even though I cannot imagine him coming back later for it. I suppose what I do not understand is, what happens if you should die without children of your own to inherit your throne? Would it not make sense in that situation for one of Alistair's children, assuming he had any, to be next in line? That would maintain the Theirin bloodline."

Anora frowned as she pondered the warden's question. "You have a point," she admitted. "I would say that it would be too dangerous a situation to have the established successor be someone outside of the current royal family, but history is also full of monarchs being eliminated by heirs in their own family. And if something was to happen to me and I had no husband or children of my own, one of the teyrns or banns would either be elected by a Landsmeet or seize the throne by force."

"Could you live with a compromise where Alistair renounced all claims for himself, and then the succession order would be your children first, Alistair's second, and beyond that whatever the nobility agrees upon?"

"Alim, I do think you are more experienced with politics than you've let on," she replied, smiling.

The elven warden chuckled in response. "No, but hopefully you agree that my intent is the same as yours, trying to do what is best for Ferelden in the short and long term."

Anora laughed lightly in response. "Yes, I do believe you. If Alistair sets aside his own claim, we can sort out the rest after the Blight is dealt with. If none of us survive, the issue of succession is a rather moot point anyway."

"Very true…" Alim agreed. "Before I go, is there anything else you need?"

Anora looked at him with a slight surprise, but smiled after a few moments. "No, I am fine. I know your asking is not motivated entirely without self-interest, but I thank you anyway."

Shaking his head, Alim replied, "Arl Eamon may call this an _alliance of convenience_, and perhaps you see it that way as well, but I do not." He then politely excused himself and left the room.

-==0==-

"What do you think of him, Erlina?"

The elven handmaiden sat down in a chair near the queen. "I think what you said to him at the end was wrong, my lady."

"Oh?"

Erlina nodded. "I've spent time with one of his companions, have listened in on his other companions talking, have gotten feedback through my information network, and have directly observed Alim himself. He allows emotion to win out over reason at times, as evidenced by him getting angry and grabbing your arm earlier, but I've heard nothing that makes me believe he is ever motivated by self-interest."

"I see… I admit that I find it a bit disconcerting that he would switch sides so easily. Will he truly go against Eamon?"

"After observing the reactions of Alim's companions yesterday and his own body language towards Eamon this morning, I believe the arl overestimates his own standing. I do not believe it has occurred to him that Alim is the lynchpin and not Alistair."

"Are you saying that Eamon never had the support from the warden he thought he had?"

Erlina shrugged. "According to the elf, Zevran, which travels with him, Alim is a man of impeccable integrity. If that is the case, and he has given you his word that he supports you, it stands to reason that he never committed to Arl Eamon in the first place."

"Perhaps… still, I need you to find out for certain."

"Of course," the elf replied simply. "A suggestion, my lady? Invite the bard, Leliana, to tea."

Anora looked at her handmaiden curiously. "A bard? Why is that?"

"She is Alim's lady-friend, and by all accounts wields a powerful influence over him. And she was demonstrably upset yesterday at Eamon's insistence that Alistair not go to Fort Drakon and at his unwillingness to commit any of his personal army to the rescue. I believe you would make a favorable impression on her, and expressing interest in her viewpoints would likely solidify her support."

"And by extension, Alim's…" Anora finished, understanding what Erlina was getting at.

"Yes, my lady."

"You said she is a bard. Would she not immediately see through such a ploy?"

"Absolutely, your interest must be genuine. I am not at all suggesting you attempt to manipulate her. Just be sincere, she will like you."

"Very well, Erlina. Please invite her to after dinner tea for me."

-==0==-

The young lady looked quizzically at the elf standing outside her door. She couldn't place his accent, but between it and his facial tattoos she knew he wasn't from the Denerim alienage. She hesitated to answer, particularly in light of how heavily armed the foreign elf was. He almost had to be in someone's military, she thought. She turned her head and glanced briefly at her Aunt Kallian, who had answered the door and called for her, then looked back at her strange visitor. She wished her Uncle Darrian was home to help set her at ease. Finally the strikingly handsome elf's disarming smile won out and she tentatively replied, "Y-yes, I am Neria. Can I h-help you?"

.

* * *

**AN: Normally I reply to every review I get via PM rather than mention them in an author's note, but not everyone leaves signed reviews that can be replied to. Thanks Aaron W. for the thoughtful reviews/comments you've left. And of course, thanks to everyone else who has as well, even if I've already said thanks in a PM.**


	12. Chapter 12

Alim moved a little quicker than usual as he made his way from Arl Eamon's study to the common area of the estate, feeling the weighty stares of each staff member he passed by. Reaching the main hall, he saw Alistair and Wynne standing off to the side of the room having a discussion. At least they were until they caught sight of him. They stopped and stared at the elven warden as he leaned up against a wall and closed his eyes, exhaling audibly in exasperation.

"Sounded like the arl took it well?" Alistair said sarcastically.

"Oh, yes, especially since we could hear him ranting all the way from here," added Wynne dryly.

Alim didn't open his eyes, but he smirked. "We may need to find a new place in Denerim to stay. I am half surprised that he did not order me thrown out on the street for supporting Anora."

Wynne shook her head. "Give him time to calm down, child. It sounds worse now than it really is. He still may not be happy with your choice, but I don't think he will continue to protest."

"Alistair, you owe me a couple now… one for getting you out of being king, and one for taking that beating from Arl Eamon for you."

The older warden laughed. "That's why you're our fearless leader and I'm not."

After Wynne excused herself and left the two wardens alone, Alistair asked, "Since you told the arl we're backing Anora, I take it your conversation with her was good?"

Alim shrugged. "To be honest, most of it was spent trying to feel each other out and trying to convince each other of our trustworthiness."

"I guess she thought it was weird that we were supporting her all of a sudden?"

"Yes, I am sure that was part of it. But it also did not help matters that right off I asked her flat out if I could trust her."

Alistair's jaw dropped in shock. "You asked the _queen_ if you could trust her? Like, to her face? That couldn't have gone over well."

Chuckling lightly, Alim nodded. "And that was before I got angry and grabbed her arm by force. I think Erlina was only a few seconds away from planting a dagger in my back."

"Wh-what?" Alistair shook his head incredulously. "You're telling me you went in there and insulted and manhandled the _queen_, and she didn't order your execution?"

"I know… you cannot take me anywhere, can you? Then again, I distinctly remember telling you and Lel that I was hardly the cultured one in the group."

"So what happened after you finished dazzling her with your _charm_?" Alistair asked sarcastically.

"Believe it or not, we actually had a good talk. I think she understands and accepts where we are coming from, that we are no threat to her politically and just want her support against the Blight. Though she did ask that in the interest of clearly resolving the issue of succession, you formally renounce your claim to the throne. I told her I did not think you would object."

Alistair shrugged in indifference. "Whatever. Anyway, what of Loghain? Did you have to argue hard for his swift execution?"

Alim hesitated, biting his bottom lip while considering his words. When he didn't reply right away, Alistair sternly demanded, "Tell me you got her commitment to execute him in exchange for our support."

"Well… I… she… she pleaded with me… that we at least afford him the opportunity to retain his honor, even though she doesn't think he would take it."

Alistair was beginning to get concerned. "And what did she say when you told her no?"

"I…" the elf trailed off, unable to finish his thought.

"Alim! Tell me you told her no!"

"I…"

Alistair's voice rose even further, he was becoming frantic. "Tell me you didn't crap on the memory of Duncan and all of the other Grey Wardens that were betrayed by that bastard Loghain!"

"I… am s-sorry, Al-Alistair," Alim choked out in a pained tone.

"Sorry about _what_? What did you agree to?"

"Th-that we would only kill him if he refused to accept the decision of the Landsmeet and step aside."

Alistair became enraged at the revelation. "Damn you, Alim! How could you do that to the Grey Wardens, to _me_? I thought you said you were my friend!"

"I am…" the elven warden replied, his voice barely above a whisper in contrast to Alistair's ranting.

"Could've fooled me!" Alistair fired back. "Does being a Grey Warden even mean anything to you? And what about all of the times Loghain tried to have us killed? How could you possibly agree to let him live?"

Alim took a deep breath. "Look, even Anora does not think Loghain will take the honorable path when the Landsmeet goes against him. And when he doesn't, she is fine with us ending him."

"What the hell does that even mean, honorable path? All he has to do is lie and say he agrees to whatever! If he says he's sorry is she going to let him continue commanding Ferelden's armies like nothing ever happened?"

"I… I do not know," Alim admitted.

"I can't believe you did this!" Alistair screamed. "I only wanted _one_ thing, _justice_! And you would deny me that?"

Tense silence fell over the room for several moments before Alistair blurted out, "You either get Anora to agree that Loghain dies regardless, or I'm taking the throne for no other reason than to make sure it happens!" He began to storm out of the room. Before he got far, however, Alim cleared his throat.

"No," he replied matter-of-factly.

Alistair stopped in his tracks, his head snapping back in the direction of his fellow warden. "No, _what_?"

Alim fought to control his emotion, which was badly frayed following two verbal lashings back to back. "No, I will not push Anora to change the terms of our agreement. As foul a taste as letting Loghain live leaves in my mouth, it was a fair compromise between what we wanted and what she wanted. And I told you back in my room that once I gave her my word I would not break it. I will not support you for the throne now, especially not when you are only throwing a temper tantrum about not getting your way."

"Temper tantrum?" Alistair seethed. "I'm the one here that remembers what _honor_ is! I'm the one trying to make sure _justice _is served for the betrayal of our Order! How _dare_ you call it a_temper tantrum_?"

"Alistair, if you were not willing to accept the terms I agreed to, then you should not have put it all on _me_ to negotiate them. I did not hear you offer even once to come with me to meet with the queen!"

"Of course, foolish me thinking I could _trust_ my supposed friend," Alistair remarked snidely. "I was supposed to expect you to stab me in the back, huh? Tell me, Alim, was it the same with Anora as with Leliana? Did Anora take you into her bed so you would willingly agree to whatever she wanted? Or did she have her maid do the deed instead?"

Alistair's remarks finally pushed the right buttons with Alim, and the younger warden's anger rose to match his friend's. "What? I did not sleep with the queen, you idiot! How can you even suggest that? And you will _not_ stand here and accuse Leliana of using sex to make me do what she wants. She is not like that!"

"Oh, really? Have you already forgotten that she's a _professional_ at doing just that? Good grief, man, you think everyone doesn't know she's playing you like a lute? Or did you actually manage to convince yourself that she really likes you?"

Alim scowled angrily. In the span of a couple seconds, images and words from much earlier in their adventures flew across his mind's eye. Walking along the West Road, the sun getting low in the sky as the day of travel drew closer to the end. The elven warden and Orlesian bard walking side by side, discussing her lifestyle back in Orlais.

"_Sometimes we must do terrible things to get what we want…"_ _the bard admitted._

_A short time later, a mischievous grin as she said, "Trust me, if I was manipulating you, you'd never know."_

Alim shook his head, as if the physical act would clear the vision that just passed. "You are wrong…" he growled. He _knew_ Leliana. She wouldn't do that to him… not to _him_.

Though Alistair did get frustrated, or perhaps even jealous on occasion that the bard's words carried greater weight with his fellow warden than his own or anyone else's, he didn't really believe what he was saying now. But the feelings of betrayal he was experiencing were spurring him to want to hurt Alim in return. Knowing Alim's confidence issues, casting doubt on his relationship was just the most obvious target to go after. So Alistair continued to cruelly attack his friend's confidence in Leliana. "Believe whatever you want," he said dismissively. "Last night she twice overruled your decision to come with me to see the arl and made you go back to the room. You admitted at breakfast what happened after that, and this morning you were back to being the dutiful puppy dog following her around and jumping at her whim. Hardly the first time that's happened either."

"Shut up, Alistair. It is not like that. If you want to be mad at me for compromising with Anora, fine. But leave Leliana out of it."

"Suuurrre… so you say. Lie to yourself all you want, but you're just another in a long line of suckers. Next time you're with her think about all of the other men she's bedded for her own gain."

Before Alim could stop himself, the instinct to physically lash out took hold and he swung hard, catching the unsuspecting former templar off guard with a left uppercut to the chin. The blow staggered Alistair back. "Shut. Up!" Alim shouted, glaring furiously at his friend.

Wynne and Oghren entered the room just in time to witness an enraged Alistair grab Alim's arm and twist it behind his back, then shove the physically slighter man face first into a wall. Wynne shouted for the two men to stop, but neither heard. Alim spun and swung wildly, a punch that Alistair stepped back to avoid before re-engaging with a vicious kidney punch that dropped the elf to his knees and left him gasping for breath. Alistair followed it up with a backfist to the side of his face that knocked him all the way down.

"Stop them!" Wynne yelled at Oghren.

"Why?" asked the dwarf. "They're men. Let them settle their own sodding issues."

Alim kicked his leg out hard, sweeping Alistair off his feet and dumping him on his rear. He jumped on top the slightly older man and got in a couple of solid punches to his face before the stronger warden tossed him off and scrambled to his feet. Wiping the blood from his lip, Alistair sneered at the elf.

"You fight this hard at your girlfriend just being insulted, yet you roll over like a dog at the betrayal of the Grey Wardens. You make me sick!"

Catching his breath, Alim shook his head. "At least I was strong enough to _make_ a decision, instead of always running away from responsibility, like _you_!"

Wynne screamed, "What has gotten into you two?" in exasperation.

Alistair lunged at Alim, tackling him around the waist and driving him back into the wall. Alim gasped as the air left his lungs again from the impact. Reason had left him by this point, and he was trying to catch enough breath to get an incantation out for a _crushing prison_ spell, while Alistair was winding up to nail him again. Suddenly the ground started rumbling and both men fell. They both attempted to stand back up, only to lose their balance and fall again.

"You children will stop right _now_!" Wynne screeched. Her _earthquake_ spell on top of the already loud commotion had drawn quite an audience from the staff members and the wardens' companions that came to investigate.

Alistair stood up once the floor stopped vibrating, and scoffing he ominously declared, "Fine, we'll do it your way, but know I won't forget what you've done." He then stormed out of the room without another word.

Alim irritably shrugged off Sten's offer to help him up, getting up on his own and going down the hall to his own room, locking himself inside before collapsing on the couch in anguish.

-==0==-

"Excuse me, Bann Alfstanna?" Leliana asked. The bard and the witch were eating lunch at a table near the entrance of the _Gnawed Noble Tavern_ when the Bann of the Waking Sea entered with Arl Bryland of South Reach.

Eyeing the pair of women warily, the bann replied, "Do I know you?"

Leliana shook her head. "Would you happen to have a brother that is a templar?"

Alfstanna's eyes narrowed. Irminric had gone missing some time ago, and she was suspicious of the Orlesian and the strangely dressed mage in front of her. "I do," she replied in an even tone.

The bard sighed in relief. "I was hoping so. My fiancé is a Grey Warden, and yesterday he found a templar imprisoned in the dungeon of Arl Howe's estate here in Denerim. He said the templar was suffering from lyrium withdrawal, but because of the situation Alim and his companions were in, he couldn't do more than unlock his cell to free him. The templar gave him his ring and asked that he give it to his sister Alfstanna."

Morrigan eyed the bard curiously at the reference to Alim being her _fiancé_, but she gave no other reaction besides a slight smirk. _"I will never understand this need to bind oneself to another in servitude," _she thought cynically.

Alfstanna's eyes opened wide in astonishment. She'd been trying to find out what happened to Irminric for months, and here it was dropped on her out of the blue. "Y-you say my brother is imprisoned in Howe's dungeon?"

Leliana nodded. "I was not there, so I am only telling you what Alim told me. But we are staying at Arl Eamon's estate. You can either stop by there to get the ring from Alim or I can have him meet you somewhere."

Alfstanna turned frantically to Arl Bryland. "I must go talk to the Grey Warden at once. I need to know if he truly has Irminric's ring."

Bryland nodded. "Of course, go. Our meeting can wait."

The bann glanced back at Leliana once again. "I-I am sorry… you said his name was?"

"Alim Surana," she answered. "He is at Arl Eamon's estate across the market square. He is an elf, though you may only recognize that from his height. He will likely be wearing a dark green hooded cloak."

After a quick thank you, Alfstanna bolted out the door, anxious to get to the Arl of Redcliffe estate.

Smiling gently, Arl Bryland nodded at Leliana and Morrigan. "Thank you for letting her know. She has been beside herself with worry ever since her brother went missing. I'd expect a fine reward if the Grey Warden does in fact have her brother's ring."

The bard returned the smile, but shook her head. "Alim would never take a reward for something like this." Morrigan rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

Bryland gave a somewhat skeptical expression, and was just about to excuse himself when a voice from the table behind him said, "I can attest to that."

The trio looked across the aisle to see a couple of older men sitting together. "Bann Sighard?" asked Arl Bryland.

Sighard nodded. "That Grey Warden matches the description of the one that also freed my son, Oswyn, from Howe's dungeon yesterday. According to Oswyn, he was still tied to a torture rack when the warden and his companions found him. Apparently he offered the warden a large sum of coin in exchange for his freedom, but the warden refused it and freed him anyway. Said something to the effect of not being willing to exploit Oswyn's misfortune for his own gain."

Bryland shook his head. "Howe made vipers seem personable, but kidnapping and torture?"

Snarling, Sighard angrily replied, "When I saw my poor boy's legs… I only wished Howe still lived that I might tear him apart myself!"

Leliana lightly cleared her throat. "What word is going around as to how Arl Howe met his end?"

Sighard waved his hand dismissively. "You can speak plainly. You want to know if Howe's death has been pinned on your Grey Warden, correct?"

Leliana smirked slightly, but nodded.

"I thought as much. Yes, Loghain is trying to convince anyone who will listen that the Grey Warden invaded Howe's estate and murdered Howe and dozens of others in order to kidnap Loghain's daughter. No one gives a damn about Howe, but some still want answers about Anora."

The bard smiled. "I would assure you that the situation with Anora is not as the teyrn is presenting it, but I suspect you will see that for yourself at the Landsmeet when Anora speaks for herself."

Bryland shook his head again. "These days, nothing seems to be as Loghain presents it."

-==0==-

"_Sometimes we must do terrible things to get what we want…"_ _the bard admitted._

_Alim's interest was even more piqued than it had been. "Oh? Like what?"_

_Sighing, Leliana replied, "People respond favorably to those who they believe understand them. They seek approval, friendship, sometimes even love. This can be exploited."_

"_Exploiting their feelings?"_

"_Yes… everyone can be seduced by the right woman. The trick is in figuring out who that woman is, and becoming her. It's a treacherous game, but once mastered no one can resist you."_

"_And people do not figure out that you are manipulating them?"_

"_Not until it is too late, if they do at all."_

_Alim shook his head. "I would like to think I could see through it, but I imagine I would be no different."_

_Leliana giggled lightly. With a mischievous grin she replied, "They all think they're immune to my charms. Trust me, if I was manipulating you, you'd never know."_

Alim shook his head, mentally kicking himself once again after that old conversation replayed in his head. He got even more frustrated at himself realizing that he felt an urgency to talk to her, to have her reassure him not of his place in her heart, but that things would be alright and that he made the right decisions. Alistair's words stung, and while the elf didn't think Leliana was manipulating him, he also couldn't make himself stop thinking about the possibility. Even more so, he couldn't deny the kernel of truth that he'd become very dependent on her, to the point of allowing her guidance and advice to almost invariably become his own decisions. He wondered if Alistair was speaking the truth when he claimed all of his companions thought she was plucking his strings so to speak.

The restless elven Grey Warden stopped only momentarily to wipe the sweat from his brow, growling at himself for letting his mind wander once again. He glanced up at the afternoon sky. The weather would begin turning cold in another month or so as autumn gave way to the beginnings of winter, but this was a warm, cloudless day with only a whisper of a breeze. But decked out in his full battle armor and wielding _Spellweaver _in his right hand and _Vigilance_ in his left, the sweat pouring off of him was the least of his concerns. He was working out in the courtyard at the Arl of Redcliffe estate, going through one-steps - short series' of move combinations in response to an imaginary attack. He cycled through dozens of combinations over and over in mind numbing repetition. _Mind numbing_ was exactly what he was going for though after the verbal dressing down he received from Arl Eamon followed by Alistair blowing up at him. It was a more productive means of suppressing the emotion he was experiencing than what he felt like doing, namely heading over to the _Gnawed Noble Tavern_ to pound pints until conscious thought was washed away. He'd almost rationalized doing it anyway, thinking he could check if Bann Alfstanna was there, but he'd promised Leliana he wouldn't go anywhere and right now the last thing he wanted was to add her to the list of people upset at him. And that made him question even more if the bard was controlling him. So here he was, working on his fighting technique in an attempt to avoid thinking about these unpleasant things, silently saying the moves as he went through them.

"_Left block, right slash, up block, left stab, right chop…"_

"_Duck, right thrust, step up sidekick, spinning right backhand slash…"_

"_Side step left, right pommel strike, left stab, right thrust…"_

"_Side step right, left backhand slash, spinning right chop, left stab, right block, left stab…"_

"Getting better…" said a voice, interrupting him. "The synchronization between your hands is still rather rough, but your movements are becoming more fluid."

Alim nodded, turning to face the source of the comments. "Hey, Zev…" he said softly.

"You not get enough killing in yesterday?" Zevran asked, smirking in amusement.

"Not that… the only thing I'm killing here is time. Just restless…" He chose to leave his explanation at that. Sheathing his weapons, he grabbed his towel and began to wipe down. "How did it go at the alienage?"

Zevran shrugged. "Some strange things going on. A mystery illness no one seems to know anything about, just that some mages from Tevinter of all places have come in and are quarantining and treating elves."

"Tevinter? Really?"

"That is not even the most unusual part. The quarantine is very suspicious. People supposedly do not come back out once they go in, nor will guards allow anyone inside to see the quarantined. Tensions are rising as more elves are taken in without explanation."

Alim rubbed his chin as he thought about what his fellow elf was describing. "Suspicious, indeed. Sounds like something we should check out sooner rather than later."

"I was thinking the same thing. You want to go now? You are already dressed and ready."

"No, Leliana, Morrigan, and Scorch are not back yet."

"And? Let's just take Sten and Alistair."

Shaking his head, Alim replied, "I told Lel I would hang out here while she was gone."

The Antivan elf laughed. "My friend, I think in some ways we are not much different from golems." Seeing Alim's perplexed expression, he continued, "Except that we rather like our _control rods_being handled."

Alim frowned. First Alistair, and now Zev was remarking about Leliana controlling him. "Is that how you and the others see it? That I just do whatever she commands me to? That she controls me through sex?"

Zev held up his hands. "Whoa, slow down, my friend. It was just a joke about men in general. Do not read so much into it."

"I… sorry… I am a little on edge."

"I can see. Did things go poorly with the arl and queen?"

Alim waved his hand. "Long story I'd rather not talk about right now."

Zev nodded. "Fair enough… I will leave you be then."

As Zevran began to walk off, Alim cleared his throat. "Hey, Zev?" When the former assassin turned back around, Alim asked, "Can we talk about yesterday for a minute?"

Zevran's face twitched slightly at the topic being raised, but he nodded solemnly.

"With Taliesin dead, the Crows would assume that you are also dead now, and stop hunting you, right?"

"This is true."

"What made you decide to follow after me at that point rather than simply leaving our group altogether? You have to know we would have let you go if you had done that."

"Is that what you expected me to do? Disappear?"

"I admit the thought crossed my mind, though to be honest I did not give the situation in general much thought because I was so focused on the mission."

"So if you would not have tried to stop me, are you saying that I am no longer beholden to you? I am free to leave if I choose to?" The Antivan's tone carried a hint of irritation to it. He was actually somewhat hurt at Alim admitting they would not have made an effort to track him down. It made him feel like Alim didn't care if he was with them or not.

Alim sighed softly. "Zev… you are a friend, not my slave. Your life is your own. I would honestly miss you if you left us, and hopefully it is obvious that I want you to stay, but I would never hold you here against your will."

"Freedom… an interesting concept. Something I've never actually experienced before."

"Even if I've never said it and I cannot pinpoint exactly when it happened, somewhere along the way I stopped thinking of you being with us as only a sworn obligation. Whatever oath there was in the beginning has long been null and void in my mind. With that said, the question remains… do… do you want to leave?"

Zevran waved his hand, smirking. "A man should always know what his options are. But no, you tend to get up to interesting things, meet interesting people, and are usually quite adept at killing them. And not to mention all the treasure, of course. So, I'm game to keep tagging along, if you are."

Alim grinned back, feeling relieved. "Sure, why not? Your priorities all seem to be in order." Alim and Zevran laughed together.

"My friend," Zev began, his expression becoming more somber, "I know it looked bad when I refused to fight Taliesin yesterday, but it was really a situation of being forced to choose between the two people that meant the most to me in the world, and the only decision I could live with was to not pick a side. With Taliesin gone, there isn't anyone or anything I wouldn't fight to protect you from. By your side I would willingly storm the gates of the Dark City itself. You will never have to doubt my loyalty."

Alim's eyes opened wide and he gulped at Zevran's impromptu confession, the light-hearted mood of a moment ago shattered. "I… I do n-not know what to say," he replied softly. "Th-thank you…"

Noticing Alim's expression, Zevran laughed lightly. "Yes, well, let's move on before this progresses to hugs and kisses and jealous bards that know as many ways to kill as I do catching us in such an awkward state."

"Uhhh… yes… let's…"

-==0==-

Alim entered Arl Eamon's study tentatively, unsure of why he had been summoned from his room. He hadn't taken the time to change yet, so he was still in his battle armor and armed. "You wished to see me?" he asked.

Eamon nodded solemnly. "This is Bann Alfstanna of Waking Sea. She was told that you had something that might have belonged to her brother." His tone was neutral, without any sense of irritation with the elven warden. Alim didn't know if he truly was no longer upset at him or if he was just masking his feelings in the well-practiced manner of a politician.

"By an Orlesian woman," Alfstanna added hastily. "She said she was your fiancée."

"Ahhh, yes, Leliana. Yes, I have your brother's ring, though I apologize for not being able to remember his name. Yesterday was rather… _hectic_ you could say. I seem to recall it starting with an 'I', maybe 'Im' or 'Irm'-something?"

"Irminric…" whispered Alfstanna hoarsely. "May I see the ring?"

"Of course, let me go retrieve it from my room. I will be back momentarily."

Several minutes later, Alim returned to find Bann Alfstanna pacing impatiently while Arl Eamon attempted to make small talk. The warden held the ring out to the bann, who practically snatched it from his hand. Her expression was a swirling vortex of relief, fear, and anger.

"This is the ring I gave my brother years ago. Warden, as it was explained to me, Irminric gave you this ring in Arl Howe's dungeon?"

Alim nodded. "I apologize that I was unable to help him escape myself, though I did unlock his cell and gave him some lyrium to help with the withdrawal symptoms he was experiencing." He then explained to Alfstanna how he'd come to find Irminric locked up and the circumstances. She gritted her teeth in fury at her brother being imprisoned so Loghain and Howe could make use of the blood mage Irminric had previously captured.

"Should you need it, my lady, I would assist you in retrieving your brother from the Arl of Denerim estate," Alim offered. Seeing the stern expression she flashed at him, he raised his hands in front of him and gently added, "I require nothing for it, I assure you. Truth be told… I feel I am at least somewhat responsible for what happened to Irminric."

"Wh-what? What did you do, Warden?" Alfstanna practically growled.

Alim closed his eyes and bowed his head, sighing. "I… the blood mage… his name was Jowan. He… was my best friend growing up at the Circle Tower."

"Jowan!" exclaimed Eamon at the mention of that name.

"Wait, you are a _mage_?" she asked incredulously, noting his roguish appearance with drakeskin armor and armed with twin blades instead of the traditional mage staff.

"An _arcane warrior_ to be precise, but yes, before I was a Grey Warden I was a mage of the Circle of Magi." Alim then told the story of how Jowan came to him shortly after his _Harrowing_ and with the aid of his girlfriend Lilly tricked Alim into believing Jowan was falsely accused of dabbling in blood magic and was going to be made tranquil as a result. And then from there how they convinced Alim to help destroy Jowan's phylactery so he could escape the Circle Tower with Lilly to go off and start a new life.

"I… see," said Alfstanna at the end. "You meant you were partly responsible for Irminric's imprisonment by helping this blood mage escape from the Circle of Magi in the first place."

Alim sighed deeply. "Yes… and for that you have my sincere apology. Helping Jowan was easily the worst mistake of my life. After Loghain and Howe's men took him from your brother's custody, they sent him to poison Arl Eamon, which he did."

Alfstanna gasped. "Eamon, is this true?"

Eamon nodded solemnly. "Yes, my dear. Loghain would have the nobles believe I was merely _ill_, but I was poisoned by his blood mage. It would have been fatal, if not for the extraordinary lengths this young man and his companions went to in order to find the cure."

"If it is any consolation at all, my lady, when I discovered Jowan at Castle Redcliffe I had Bann Teagan execute him. And my offer still stands to go back and get Irminric for you."

The bann scowled angrily once again before exhaling audibly. "If Loghain thinks he is going to sway the Landsmeet when he has been up to this sort of evil, he is sorely mistaken. Warden, you have my gratitude for helping my brother and for being so forthright. I know… I know it was a difficult admission for you, one you could've easily omitted since it would be very unlikely I'd ever find out otherwise. Know that I won't hold your role in helping the blood mage escape the Circle against you. I can see that you truly regret having done it, and more importantly that you have done much to make up for it."

"Thank you, my lady," Alim replied softly, bowing his head briefly.

"I do have my own private army," Alfstanna added, "so while I do not expect any resistance at the Arl of Denerim estate, I shall be prepared if there is. But I appreciate the offer anyway, Warden."

-==0==-

Morrigan and Leliana arrived back at the Arl of Redcliffe estate shortly after dinner. While the witch was glad to get her shopping finished with a minimal amount of badgering from the bard, she'd also had to suffer going to many more places than she would've on her own. Morrigan took the approaching elven handmaiden greeting Leliana as her cue to go her own way. That left Leliana to talk to Erlina, who invited her fellow bard to evening tea with the queen. Leliana was curious as to why she was being invited alone, but readily agreed. She'd just purchased a new dress and shoes on her shopping expedition with Morrigan anyway, and it would be the perfect occasion to wear them.

Realizing that the time it would take her to get ready was roughly what she had, Leliana strode quickly through the main hall and common area. In her haste she nearly bowled over Wynne, who was on her way from the dining hall back to her room.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Wynne!" exclaimed Leliana, reaching out to help steady the older woman's balance.

"Think nothing of it, child." With a grave expression, she asked, "Have you heard yet about the wardens?"

Leliana shook her head in confusion, with slight trepidation forming from the manner in which Wynne asked the question. The old mage sighed before giving her the rundown on what she knew, that some decision Alim made sparked an argument between the two and had led to fisticuffs. After hearing what happened, Leliana scampered down the hall to her room to hopefully find Alim in addition to getting ready to visit with the queen.

-==0==-

The bard growled in frustration at the note she found on the bed. It was a single sentence from Alim, stating simply that he was in the estate but off where he could be alone for awhile. She really wished now that she'd run into Wynne _before_ Erlina, otherwise she would've put off meeting with Anora until the next evening. But since cancelling now would be poor etiquette, she hurriedly bathed and got dressed. Finishing ahead of schedule, she left the room and asked several people if they'd seen where Alim went, but no one had any ideas. That frustrated her even more. Knowing she was short on time, she opted for the next best alternative.

"Go away!" shouted Alistair in response to the knock at his door. The knocking became more insistent, only to be met by silence from inside the room.

Alistair, sitting on the couch with his head leaned back, opened his eyes, his jaw dropping open in incredulous shock at the door slamming behind the redheaded Orlesian now standing in front of him. "Hey! Th-that was locked!" he exclaimed.

"You are right, it _was_ locked," she replied matter-of-factly, placing the hairpin she'd used to pop the lock back into place in her hair. "Start talking."

"Didn't your boyfriend already explain everything?" he asked sarcastically.

Leliana frowned briefly. "I have not seen him, and I am short on time before I need to be somewhere. What happened, Alistair? I only know what little bit Wynne knew."

The former templar scoffed, standing up and beginning to pace. "He sold out the Grey Wardens!"

Leliana's eyes opened wide. "Wh-what? How?"

"By agreeing to let Loghain get away with his crimes! I can't believe after all we've been through that he'd just spit on the Grey Wardens like that, on Duncan's memory! How can being a Grey Warden mean so little to him that he'd betray the Order like that? How could he turn on _me_ like that?" His voice rose and got more and more frantic with each sentence he uttered.

"Wait… Alistair, slow down… being a Grey Warden is very important to Alim. What did he do that caused you to think all of this?"

Alistair glared at the bard. With her new dress and its low scooped neckline, for the first time he noticed Alim's warden amulet around her neck. He scowled while pointing an accusing finger at her. "If being a Grey Warden is so damned important to him, why are _you _wearing _his _amulet? That's supposed to represent _his_ commitment to the Order. Some commitment, huh?"

Leliana felt her own anger rising, but fought to push it back down. Getting into an argument right now wouldn't help her get the answers she was looking for. So she decided to placate his ranting. "If you must know, a couple nights ago Alim asked me to marry him. It was on the spur of the moment and he didn't have a ring, so in its place he gave me this. For the sake of privacy I will not repeat his words, but I assure you he was very clear that what this amulet represents is very dear to him."

Alistair's expression shifted from budding rage to uncertainty. "I… uhhh… and you… said… yes?"

She rolled her eyes at Alistair's question. "Of course I did, do you truly believe I'd be wearing his amulet if I said no?"

"I… I suppose not…" he admitted.

Leliana studied the warden's perplexed expression. "This surprises you, yes?"

Alistair gave a slight nod. "I-I didn't think you were that serious towards him."

It took her a moment, but she caught on to the real meaning behind those words. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Alistair, right now I don't have the time to set you straight. Tell me, what is this betrayal you spoke of?"

Alistair sighed heavily, shaking his head as if he still couldn't believe it. "He told Anora that Loghain doesn't have to die if he accepts the Landsmeet's decision against him."

"And you see that as betrayal?"

"Of course it is! Loghain is responsible for Ostagar! He has tried to ruin the name of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden, tried to have us exterminated like vermin! Letting him live is a betrayal to all the wardens we lost because of him!"

"Last I knew, Alim was insistent that Loghain die as part of any agreement to back Anora. Did he say what changed?"

Alistair shrugged. "He just said it was a compromise between what we wanted and what she wanted. We weren't really discussing things rationally by that point." He chuckled sarcastically. Leliana took his laughter to be in reference to his previous comment, but it was actually from Alistair realizing how easily the bard had both defused his anger and taken control of the conversation.

"I… see… So, what caused the argument to turn physical?"

Alistair coughed, averting his eyes from her gaze. "He got mad at something I said and sucker punched me."

"What did you say?"

"Ummm… it isn't important now…"

"Of course it's important! It is not like Alim to do something like that, especially not to you. I am trying to understand what set him off."

"I-I do not want to s-say."

Leliana frowned. "Alim loves you, Alistair. It must have been pretty bad for him to hit you over it." After half a minute of silence ensued, she decided not to press. Changing the subject, she remarked, "I have to go now, but before I do I wish to remind you that the Blight does not care about politics or personal feelings. Whatever hostility you and Alim hold for each other right now, you need to get it resolved, or at least figure out how to set it aside for the greater good." She then turned to leave the room.

Alistair sighed in exasperation. "Wait…" he requested just as she gripped the doorknob. Leliana glanced back at the warden, silently prompting him to continue. "I… I know you'll just hear it from Alim anyway…"

"Hear what?" she prodded gently when Alistair didn't continue right away.

The former templar blushed in embarrassment. "I-I am s-sorry… I… you must understand that I wasn't thinking clearly, I w-was so angry at Alim that I just wanted to make him hurt like I was." He sighed, pausing again.

"_Alistair…"_ prodded Leliana again, with a little more impatience in her tone.

Alistair rubbed his face before resting his forehead in his hand. Without looking up at the bard, he softly admitted, "I basically told him your relationship was a lie, that you were only using him for personal gain and that everyone but him knew it." He held his breath in anticipation of the expected outburst, only to be bewildered when all he heard was the soft click of the door closing. He tentatively opened his eyes and looked up, discovering that she was gone.

-==0==-

Despite her anxiety over Alim and Alistair and her uncertainty over why the queen invited her to tea, Leliana was a professional at portraying what she wished others to see, capable of easily putting on a mask at a moment's notice to reflect the proper mood for the situation. Standing outside the door to the queen's suite, she buried her real emotions and transformed into a cheerful minstrel slightly awestruck at having the personal attention of the Queen of Ferelden. Satisfied, she knocked on the door, and was admitted moments later by Erlina.

Queen Anora was already sitting on the couch in the sitting room. Judging from the tray on the serving table off to the side, Erlina had been in the process of setting up. _"Good,"_ Leliana thought to herself, _"I am not as late as I'd feared." _Leliana curtsied to the monarch, a traditional greeting of respect, while remaining silent until the queen addressed her.

Anora smiled brightly. "Leliana, you look very elegant this evening. I hope my invitation did not cause an undue burden in preparing?"

Leliana giggled lightly, returning the queen's smile as she shook her head. "Not at all, Your Majesty. Traveling as an adventurer does not afford many opportunities to dress up, so this is a delight for me."

Anora waved her hand, laughing while gesturing for Leliana to sit down. "Please, 'Anora' is fine. I understand what you mean, I feel the same on the rare occasion I get to don armor and a mace anymore."

"A mace, eh? I've always been a dagger kind of girl myself."

Anora laughed again. "Oh, I'm not nearly as dainty as my appearance would suggest. I was quite the tomboy growing up, much to my father's chagrin. I used to drag Cailan into all sorts of trouble when we were kids. I was much more adventurous than he was."

Leliana laughed along with the queen. "Did your father not approve because you were a girl?"

Anora nodded. "He was always worried about appearances, that the nobility was going to insist on Cailan being matched with someone more _ladylike_. Having been granted a noble title for being a war hero rather than being born into it, I think my father was overly sensitive that other nobles viewed him as a sort of junior member of the club so to speak, something that never sat well with his personality. Even once he acquiesced to me receiving formal weapon training, he insisted that I learn the shortbow because it seemed most appropriate for the noble lady he desperately wanted me to be."

"A pretty weapon that is easy to learn and does not require one to get dirty to use," Leliana replied knowingly.

"Yes, so naturally I took up the mace, the most inelegant, unladylike weapon I could think of. Later on I did learn the shortbow as well, but only after I'd gotten my way and because I wanted to."

Leliana laughed gleefully. "How did he take it?"

"Oh, about as you'd expect from a man accustomed to everyone bending to his will. But even though he didn't like it, in the end I think he realized that I was a lot like him, and he respected that I wouldn't back down from what I believed was right. He told me that was an admirable trait for a future queen."

"Yes, though usually that is to the chagrin of the nobility, who prefer more malleable monarchs."

"True. They are not all bad, though you have to watch out for the ones that will smile to your face while sliding the knife into your back."

Nodding in the direction of Erlina off to the side, Leliana replied, "And that is why a trusted bard is worth every sovereign their services cost."

"Very astute, my dear. You certainly understand the realities of political life."

Leliana smiled. "Occupational hazard you could say. I've served royalty and nobility before, and you learn quickly that it is not only your patron you have to look out for, but yourself as well. Once you are discovered for what you are, it is usually best for your long-term health to disappear for awhile."

Anora nodded. "Since we are on the topic of bards, I am sure you are at least somewhat suspicious as to why I invited you to tea. You wouldn't be very good at what you do if you weren't, and my understanding is that you are very good at what you do."

After Leliana nodded politely, Anora continued, "I have no desire to attempt to deceive you, Leliana. I admit that I have an agenda, but I will not hide it from you and I seek to earn your trust. Erlina has learned much already, as you would expect, but you are a part of Alim and Alistair's inner circle, privy to much more than an outsider could find out on their own. Alim gave me his support this morning, but I am also aware that he and Eamon and then he and Alistair had quite loud altercations over it afterwards. Now, I don't doubt Alim's word, but I'm curious as to what sway he really has over Eamon, and how Alistair's reaction might play into what they do at the Landsmeet."

Leliana sighed, but was somewhat relieved that at least for now the queen wasn't asking her to go down a road she was unwilling to travel. She took a drink before explaining, "Truthfully, I was not here most of the day and I have not been able to talk to Alim since I got back. I did talk to Alistair in private before I came to see you. The fight between the wardens was because Alim compromised on the issue of your father. You know they both hate the teyrn with all of their being for what he did both to their Order and to them personally. Since I haven't talked to Alim since this morning I do not know what caused the change of heart, he previously was very insistent that Teyrn Loghain be executed as part of any agreement. But I do know that Alistair saw the compromise as a betrayal of him personally and the Grey Wardens as a whole."

"I see…" said Anora, frowning. "Will Alistair go against Alim now and fall back in line with Eamon's plans?"

"I do not believe so, but I also did not specifically ask him. I was short on time and admittedly more concerned with other aspects of their fight. You should know that because of his upbringing, Alim is slow to trust and tends to be cynical about the motivations of others. So as far as Arl Eamon goes, Alim had always been noncommittal when the arl spoke of his plans. Not that the arl noticed, because he has always wrongly assumed that Alistair was the leader of our group rather than Alim."

Anora nodded, inwardly pleased that Leliana's assertion backed up what Erlina had suggested earlier in the day. "Hmmm… what happens if in his discontent, Alistair _does_ agree to try for the throne?"

Leliana's expression turned grim. "Then… things get very ugly."

"Ugly?"

"Yes… perhaps I am biased in my assessment, but Alim's honor is impeccable. He gave you his word that he will support you, and he will not break that… even for Alistair. In addition to the support you already have, I helped Alim secure Bann Sighard and Bann Alfstanna today. I do not know who is left for your father and Alistair to obtain, but depending on how firmly entrenched they are… it could be difficult for any one candidate to secure a majority."

Anora considered her next words. "I admit I find it difficult to understand how Alim is described as one who will not go against his word when it seems he already has. I mean, did he not support Alistair's bid for the throne previously?"

Leliana nodded, understanding Anora's confusion. "He did, because he loves Alistair like a brother. But Alistair has been adamant about not wanting to be king. So by supporting your candidacy, Alim is directly supporting Alistair's desires even though it conflicts with what the arl wants. And Alim does understand that Arl Eamon's push for Alistair doesn't lack for personal ambition."

"Do you see Eamon the same way?"

"I see the arl as one who finds the prospect of being the monarch's chief advisor very alluring, but he doesn't strike me as a man who will pursue it at all costs. He seems an honorable man who would rather Ferelden be united even if it means a lesser role for him personally. He may yet try to convince the wardens to change their minds, but he will not be able to and once the Landsmeet comes I believe he will support you."

Anora nodded. "You appear very confident in Alistair's allegiance to Alim. I hope for all of our sakes that you are correct about that."

Smiling gently, Leliana replied, "It is difficult for those outside of our group to understand just how much Alim affects and inspires all of us, especially since most do not take the time to see past his exterior."

Anora frowned, bowing her head slightly as she remembered her own reaction to Alim's physical appearance.

"He is a beautiful person, with such a big heart," Leliana added softly.

"He seems the type of person that you find yourself wanting to be around, where you almost can't help but want to discover everything about them."

Leliana raised an eyebrow curiously at the queen's statement, causing her to chuckle. "My meeting with him this morning began rather _roughly_ you could say, but I realized afterwards that by the end I found myself quite fascinated with him. Even if his appearance was… _startling_… at first, he has a charisma to him that shines through it."

"You got him to take off his hood?" she asked in surprise.

Nodding, Anora replied, "Alim certainly does not have your social graces, Leliana. He started off by asking me point blank if he could trust me."

"Wh-what?" Leliana gasped.

"Yes, and then said I needed to tell him to his face that I'd be honest with him. Naturally I retorted that if he wanted that then he needed to at least show his face where I could see it."

Leliana shook her head. "Ugh... that was not appropriate of him, distrustful of people in authority or not. So you saw his wounds, yes?"

Anora nodded, frowning sadly again. "I… I was not expecting it and reacted poorly, as I imagine many people do." She described what she did and how Alim reacted by snatching her hand away from her mouth and placing it on his ear, eliciting another gasp from the bard.

"Please tell me he apologized for that," Leliana whispered, still in disbelief.

Anora waved her hand dismissively, indicating it was of no concern to her at this point. "He did, and I apologized to him as well. But even with that start and that I admittedly asked him here for selfish reasons, I took a genuine liking to him. So I did see a glimpse of the charming personality you talked about."

After talking to Anora for another hour or so about all manner of things, Leliana politely bid the queen goodnight and left. With her commitments out of the way, she was left with only a single-minded focus – find Alim. When she discovered he still had not returned to the room, she began prowling the estate, interrogating everyone she came across and leaving no room unsearched.

-==0==-

"How did you find me, Lel?" Alim asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Leliana's eyes opened wide in astonishment. It had taken her awhile to figure out her warden was up on the roof, and maybe five minutes had passed since she'd stealthily made her way up through the access hatch. She was a rogue attempting not to be heard, and she couldn't imagine that Alim had actually heard her approach from behind in bare feet and silently sit down ten feet away. She had even been careful to still her breathing as she quietly observed him sitting on his cloak stargazing at the clear night sky. She was wracking her brain trying to figure out what might have given her away when he chuckled at her lack of response.

"The breeze shifted and I caught wind of your perfume. I have no idea how long you have been here though."

Leliana giggled lightly, filing away that mental note for later while standing up and going to join him. She sat down behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest and pulling him backwards into an embrace. The bard frowned though when she felt him stiffen uncomfortably in response and briefly resist her pull before giving in. Even then he did not seem comfortable with her holding him.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked gently.

"Desperately…" he admitted. "But that is part of the problem."

"I do not understand. Why is that a problem?"

Alim sighed. "How much do you know already?"

"You mean about you and Alistair, yes?"

"Yes…"

"Wynne told me what she saw happen when I came in, and then when I couldn't find you I sought out Alistair before it was time for me to have tea with Queen Anora. He told me enough, including admitting what he said that caused you to hit him."

"W-wait… you had tea with Anora?"

"Yes, I came from there a short time ago."

"Were any of the others there, or was it just you?"

She knew he was connecting in his mind what Alistair told him to why Anora invited her to tea, and realized her answer was only going to reinforce it. "I was the only one invited," she replied. After half a minute of silence she felt Alim shudder a couple of times. "Tell me the truth," she demanded in a hoarse whisper, "do you believe what Alistair said?"

"That I am just the latest in a long line of suckers you've bedded for personal gain? Not at all. Of course, you said it yourself I'd never know if you were manipulating me. But no, I honestly do not believe you are. You know it would absolutely _destroy_ me if this was all a lie… and maybe the old Leliana was capable of such cruelty, but the woman sitting here with me now is not. Besides, like I said last night, I know you really love me because you demonstrate it time and time again through your actions."

Leliana felt relieved at his answer, but knew something was still wrong. "My dearest one, I can tell something about me is still bothering you. Please tell me."

"It… it is stupid… I should not care…"

"Then it should be easy to move past, no?"

Alim shuddered again. "I… I f-feel like everyone thinks you control me, and... I cannot really dispute it."

"So you believe that as well, yes?"

"D-do not get me wrong, Lel, I do not believe it is anything you do consciously, or with any sort of agenda, or anything like that. It is _me_ that is the problem, I trust you so completely that I do not question anything you say and just go along with it. And earlier when I said wanting desperately to talk to you was a problem, it is the same type of thing. I am so dependent on you now that I hardly know how to function without you."

In a quiet voice, Leliana replied, "It is not so very different for me, even though I swore to myself I'd never let it happen again after Marjolaine."

"I-I do not actually want it to change, to be honest. And I cannot even make up my mind if that is a bad thing or not." Alim chuckled humorlessly.

Leliana giggled softly in response, brushing his hair to the side with her hand and kissing him along the nape of his neck. "Do not worry so much about it. I follow _you_, not the other way around. And look at it this way, if I was truly controlling you, you'd never have gotten away with the decision not to take me with you yesterday. And it was actually your decision for me to go with Morrigan this morning. As you noticed, I was torn about what to do, so you made the decision for me."

"I…I guess you are right."

"Feel better now?"

Alim laughed lightly. "See, I told you it was stupid."

"No, not stupid. The fact that others see enough to make them assume or believe I control your decision making means I must be mindful not to allow myself to be used as a means of getting to you. And truth be told, knowing how much influence I have with you, I must be more mindful about not offering unsolicited opinions and advice in certain situations. I do not wish to exploit your trust."

Alim extracted himself from her arms and legs long enough to turn around and face her, easing her back and lying on top. "Thank you for being so understanding," he whispered, kissing her. "And yet again proving how much you love me," he added, kissing her again.

"Mmm… you are so sweet," she mumbled between kisses.

"Je t'aime, ma très chère Leliana."

The bard gasped lightly in surprise before giggling. "I love you too, my dearest Alim," though now I want to know what other Orlesian woman has been sweet talking you for you to learn that."

Alim chuckled. "Nothing so scandalous, I assure you. I simply asked Erlina how to say 'I love you, my dearest Leliana' in Orlesian."

Leliana smirked. "You learn anything else interesting?"

Alim grinned mischievously. "I thought about asking her to translate some of the things I've heard you say when we are intimate, but decided that was probably a bad idea."

Leliana's expression turned to one of horror. "Umm… yes… a very, _very_ bad idea," she agreed quickly. Alim couldn't help the giggling fit that started at her reaction, which in turn caused her to start giggling again along with him when she realized he was only teasing.

Unspoken in the light-hearted moment between them was the relief both felt. For Alim, it was relief that Leliana not only didn't get upset or defensive at the assertion that everyone thought she for all intents and purposes controlled him, but that she intended to make sure his dependency on her didn't get exploited by her or anyone else. For Leliana, it was relief that Alim hadn't allowed Alistair's remarks to cast doubt on her or cause him to regress in the confidence she was working so hard to build up. She'd left Alistair's room without saying anything in response to his admission not because of what was said about _her_, but because the thought that his words might actually have shaken Alim's fragile self-esteem made her want to kill Alistair herself. After seeing her warden handle it better than she worried he would though, and Alistair's rather contrite tone near the end of her discussion with him, she hoped the two wardens would quickly make up and put this incident in the past. Leliana was personally willing to let Alistair off the hook at this point and move on. But as she thought deviously to herself, she wasn't above making him sweat a bit about it first.

.

* * *

**AN: To think when I started this chapter I actually thought I was going to get us through the alienage :-) To be fair though, I had been going back and forth on whether to have Alim tell Alistair about his compromise with Anora right away like I did here, or to have it work out such that Alistair didn't find out until the Landsmeet. I think the latter would've been more fun to write from an author point of view, and if I had done that I probably would've gotten to the alienage. But I think having it here serves the story/characters better. So the elves will have to wait until next time!**

**Special thanks to Ledilettant for confirming my French translation in the last conversation of the chapter! I don't speak it myself, and while online translation tools usually get you in the ballpark, it's hard to trust that they'll phrase something the way a native speaker would :-)**


	13. Chapter 13

"_What a difference a day makes…"_ Zevran thought solemnly to himself. Sitting in the dining hall eating breakfast, he noted that the mood in the room couldn't have been more opposite to the previous day than it was. A handful of his companions were sharing a table, though _sharing _was a bit of a stretch as it was in body only. Ordinarily they'd be fairly evenly spread out and some more talkative than others, but this morning everyone was giving Alistair a wide berth and the only sounds were of clinking silverware and cups.

The elder Grey Warden had already felt uneasy wondering what reception he'd receive from his companions following his fight with Alim, and the tense silence at the table did nothing to alleviate that. Only Oghren had been there when he arrived, and as the others trickled in none save Zevran had addressed him. Even the chatterbox of the group, Leliana, hadn't said more than a few words total in the fifteen or so minutes she'd been there.

Taking a deep breath, Alim entered the dining hall. He quietly observed the table while getting his own plate, gloating silently to himself that his companions seemed to be giving Alistair the cold shoulder, not caring at the moment that it was petty and childish to think that way. He joined the others after getting his food, groaning inwardly that the only available chairs forced him to be the one to sit closest to his fellow warden. Alistair sat at one end, with Leliana on the same side but five chairs down at the opposite end of the table. Wynne sat next to Leliana, with Oghren next to her. Sitting across from Leliana was Sten, with Morrigan next to him and Zev next to her. Alim plopped down next to Zev, which placed him on the other side of the table and two chairs over from Alistair.

"Good morning, guys," he offered as he sat down. No one acknowledged him.

After a few bites and no replies, he tried again. Without looking up he asked, "Who all is up for exploring the alienage today?" When still no replies came, he raised his head and glanced around the table at his companions, all of whom were avoiding eye contact with him. That's when he finally understood. His smug arrogance from a few minutes earlier had been completely misplaced.

"_It is not just Alistair they are giving the cold shoulder to."_ He shook his head slightly at the thought that both of them were in the doghouse for their fight, though he wasn't surprised at Leliana not saying much. Back in their room she had suggested that he make the first move and apologize to Alistair, and to include him in the group going to the alienage. It was a suggestion that Alim had reacted poorly to. After all, Alim didn't see why _he_ should have to apologize when Alistair was the one who started it. When Leliana then suggested that Alim be a little more understanding about how the surprise of his agreement with Anora took Alistair off guard, Alim scoffed and said he wasn't going to deal with it right now. At that point she didn't say anything else, but simply left him to finish getting ready on his own.

"Zev, are you going?" Alim asked. The Antivan elf acted as if he hadn't heard the question, simply taking another bite.

"Oghren?" Alim asked.

After several moments of silence, the dwarf scoffed. "Sodding noisy in here this morning, I think I'll go eat in my room." He took his plate and mug and left.

"Save your breath," Alistair said sarcastically to the younger warden. "In case you haven't figured it out, we're being ignored." Inwardly, Alistair was very relieved that Alim was getting the same treatment, as if being in trouble was more okay if he didn't have to be in trouble by himself.

"I can only imagine who put everyone up to it," Alim replied with an equal amount of sarcasm. "Anyway, since you're at least talking… you up for going to the alienage?"

Alistair raised an eyebrow curiously. "Y-you want me to go with you?"

Alim smirked. "Not really, but it doesn't matter since my decision maker does and you know she always gets her way." Alistair's jaw dropped open in shock at Alim's statement at the same time the sound of silverware being slammed down came from the other end of the table. Alim didn't have to look to know Leliana was giving him a death glare, and the two reactions caused the younger warden to grin. In a quiet voice not loud enough for Leliana to hear, Alim added, "Anyway, something tells me the others are not going to talk to us until we kiss and make up, so what do you say?"

Alistair shook his head. "I am _not_ kissing you. But… it _would_ get awfully boring if all we had was each other to talk to." He flashed a coy grin of his own.

Continuing in a quiet voice, Alim replied, "Well, we could always torment a certain someone by doing and saying really obnoxious things until they are forced to stop ignoring us?"

Alistair laughed as that conjured up a few mental images. Not bothering to keep his voice down, he answered, "Tempting, but that could result in bodily harm. Or even worse in your case, it could result in certain vows of celibacy being renewed."

Alim winced briefly before Alistair winked at him. Catching on that Alistair joined the game, Alim winked back and letting the volume of his voice return to normal, replied, "Well, if there is no sex, I guess she loses her means of controlling me then, eh?" The bard at the end of the table, having missed the non-verbal communication that passed between the wardens, was getting even more furious at what appeared to be the two of them continuing to snipe at each other under the guise of humor.

"True… and just think, with all the extra sleep at night you'd get, you'll be more rested during the day and be able to think more clearly when making deals with nobles."

"Ahhh, but remember, it was not a lack of sleep yesterday, it was that Anora bribed me with sex, right?"

"Oh, that's right!" Alistair exclaimed. "I'd forgotten. Hmmm… maybe you should just stay away from female nobles just to be safe."

"Probably for the best," Alim agreed, "It is hard work negotiating that way. Besides-"

Leliana slammed her hands down on the table. "Will you two shut up?" she asked scornfully.

Alim looked at Alistair with mock curiousness. "Did you hear something, Alistair?"

Alistair feigned innocence. "Nope… must have been your imagination. Anyway, what were we talking about?"

Zev began to lose his battle trying to stifle the giggles and burst out laughing. He'd figured out what the two wardens were doing, and watching Leliana's face turning red as she fumed out of one eye while watching them with the other was high comedy. She had no idea they were putting her on.

"Hmmm… there is another strange noise," Alim commented after Zev began laughing next to him. "Are you sure you do not hear anything?"

Alistair looked contemplative. "Perhaps… maybe it is coming from the other room?"

"Maybe so… should we investigate?" Alim asked.

"Don't forget you have to ask Leliana for permission first."

"Good point… and I guess we will have to ask her if we even _should _go, since you cannot make a decision of course. But since she is not here, maybe I can-"

"Stop it!" Leliana shouted furiously, standing up and stalking over to the other end of the table. "Stop poking at each other like this. You two are behaving like little boys!" she scolded, flashing angry glares at both. Alim and Alistair glanced at her and then each other, and then simultaneously broke out in full fledged laughter.

"Got you!" Alim exclaimed.

"Hook, line, and sinker!" added Alistair. He extended his hand, which Alim reached up and slapped in a high five.

"Wh-what?" Leliana asked in bewilderment, drawing more laughter from the wardens. Zev joined in on the laughter, while Wynne cracked a smile and Sten just shook his head at the childish antics. Morrigan clapped mockingly at the performance.

"You mean… wait, you mean you were not being serious?" she asked, still confused.

"Awww, come on," Alim teased, "you think we could not figure out that you put everyone up to the silent treatment?"

Catching on to what happened, Leliana smirked. "Well, it accomplished its intended purpose anyway. You two have made up, yes?"

Alim sighed, nodding. "Alistair, I am sorry for yesterday. I cannot change it now, but I should not have agreed to those terms without double-checking with you first. And I should not have thrown that first punch."

Alistair sighed as well. "I'm sorry too… for what I did to both of you. No matter how mad I was, saying what I did about Leliana was really uncalled for. I shouldn't have tried to make you doubt her. Forgive me."

Alim waved his hand. "It is done." Leliana nodded, echoing the same words before chuckling at the thought that the wardens had gotten her.

Noticing the time, Alim changed the subject. "Hey, guys, we need to get going on the day. I want Alistair, Lel, Zev, Wynne, and Scorch to go with me to investigate the alienage. Gear up and let's meet out front to leave in twenty minutes."

-==0==-

The group was nearing the end of the bridge leading into Denerim's elven alienage when Alim's pace slowed to a near stop. His head was bowed slightly forward, the position hiding even more of his face than usual. Leliana had a strong suspicion as to the pensive nature of the expression he wore. She hadn't asked him about returning to the alienage for the first time since being taken away as a young child, and she hadn't told him any of what Zev told her he discovered regarding Alim's family, but she knew such thoughts had to be weighing heavily on him now that he was at the cusp of returning to his birth home.

Alim's gait finally stopped altogether. "Something wrong?" asked Alistair, who knew Alim was from Denerim but wasn't making the connection to the significance of the occasion.

When the elven warden didn't reply right away, Leliana took his hand and lightly squeezed. "Give him a moment, please," she said to their companions. He squeezed back, silently thanking her for understanding. After a couple of minutes he sighed audibly, shaking his head.

"Sorry, guys. I had not given much thought… to… I mean, I… did not realize until we got here how much this was going to affect me. I was not prepared for the mental bombardment I went through just now."

"It is only natural to have strong feelings about coming home, child," Wynne offered.

Alim shook his head, waving his hand as he gestured around him. "I may have been born here, but _this_ is not my home. I remember nothing of life before the Circle Tower."

"Alim," began Leliana patiently, "Wynne is right. Being here obviously means something or it would not affect you so strongly. It's okay to be honest with yourself about it."

"I… well… to be honest, what I am _feeling_ is not particularly pleasant. But I will do my best to set it aside. Just bear with me please if I get a bit distracted at times." As Alim resumed walking, Leliana made eye contact with Zev and shook her head. The implication was clear – they were _not_ telling Alim about his family today.

-==0==-

Alim was nearly silent as the party made its way through the streets of the alienage. His eyes were in constant motion though, taking in each and every detail of what would have been his lifelong home if circumstances had been different. His thoughts were scattered, making it hard to focus on the task at hand, but the singular root thought behind everything was consistent.

"_Why me?"_

It was an unanswerable question that spawned a number of offshoots. Soaking in the sights and smells of desperate living, seeing sick adults and children alike, dead animals on the side of the street, the elven warden couldn't help but play the 'what if' game in his mind. _"What if I was not born with a higher sensitivity towards magic than normal?" "What if my talent for magic had not manifested until I was older?"_ The answer to the first question was easy, albeit sobering. At best he'd be one of the many elves struggling to scrap out a living here in the alienage. At worst he'd be dead, most likely from disease and/or malnutrition, though he imagined that death from violent crime was common here as well.

The answer to the second question was fraught with possibilities. Perhaps he'd have died at a young age and never gotten a chance, which obviously wasn't uncommon in the alienage. Perhaps he'd have survived long enough to be taken to the Circle Tower anyway. But how different of a person would he have been though if he'd been old enough to remember life in the alienage before being taken away? Would the typical elven anti-human attitude have taken hold first? If so, how would it have affected his relationships with other apprentices at the Circle? Would he have ever even become friends with Jowan, a human? If not, would the elf ever have ended up conscripted into the Grey Wardens, or would he still be at the Circle Tower, living out a caged without bars life as Morrigan put it, and as a full mage teaching apprentices while continuing to be blissfully unaware of the world outside?

As dangerous as his life had been over the last year plus and as many near death experiences as he'd had, it was hard to fathom the idea of it never happening. Some old bard once penned the phrase at the start of a tale, _"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."_ It couldn't have been a more accurate description of Alim's life since the day he left the Circle Tower in Duncan's custody. But even with the bad, he wouldn't trade his life for any other. The thought that if one or two things here or there had gone differently that his life wouldn't have turned out the way it did made his head hurt.

The very short time spent here in Denerim's alienage was already causing Alim to reevaluate many of the things in life he'd taken for granted. He also felt slightly guilty as he quietly observed their surroundings. At the Circle Tower, the mages often complained about their oppressed existence, always under the watchful eye of the Chantry. Personal possessions and privileges were few, even less for apprentices, and Alim was no different than any of his other fellow mages in complaining at times about how horrible their life was. But being smacked in the face with the reality of life in the alienage, Alim understood how fortunate his life really had been. Being born with a talent for magic wasn't a curse for this elf, it was a _saving grace _from the Maker. For all of the complaining about the templars, the truth was that the mages didn't lack for basic necessities like food, clothing, or shelter. They may not have been given much, but Alim knew he always had a bed to sleep in and he always knew when the next meal was. And up until his Harrowing he'd never felt any real sense of danger. The tightly controlled lifestyle at the Circle Tower made for a safe atmosphere. Swift and harsh punishment from the templars was a real deterrent to mages fighting with each other, and for the same reason the mages by and large rarely did anything to provoke such retribution. So while mage life fostered a cutthroat atmosphere politically, Alim couldn't remember even a single time when he genuinely feared for his safety like he imagined many elves in the alienage did on a daily basis. He felt foolish for all of the times growing up he'd pitied himself and cried to the Maker for cursing him with magic and tearing him away from his parents.

Recognizing his fellow elf's distraction, Zevran quietly moved to the front and gestured for everyone to follow him. Everyone understood the situation, both that Alim's mind was preoccupied and that Zev had already been to the alienage the previous day and knew where he was going. So they followed his lead further into the heart of the alienage.

-==0==-

Directing the group towards a hospice near the center of the alienage, Zevran motioned towards a female elf with short red hair, a lady that hard living was already robbing of her beauty even though she only appeared to be maybe thirty. She was standing with her arms crossed and a stern expression on her face as she silently glared at the Tevinter guards in front of the hospice. "This is Shianni," Zev said as they approached her, "she is the one who told me yesterday about the plague and the Tevinter mages."

Shianni turned her head at the mention of her name, but otherwise didn't greet the party.

Zev cleared his throat. "Shianni, this is the Grey Warden I mentioned yesterday," he said while gesturing to Alim.

Shianni made a show of demonstrably sizing up the elven warden, shaking her head and sighing multiple times. Finally she frowned and remarked, "Ain't much to him."

While Alim merely rolled his eyes, Alistair took offense. "H-hey! We're here to _help_ you know. You could show a little respect."

Shianni glared at the human Grey Warden. "Oh? You're here to _help _us, are you, shem? Forgive me for not being impressed with the bang up job you've done so far. Elder Valendrian and my uncle Cyrion are still gone, probably never to be seen again!" The bitterness in her voice was more than evident.

"Enough!" Alim barked, raising his hand in front of him. "Look, my mood is just as foul as yours. If you _want_ our help then stop wasting time insulting us and tell us what we need to know."

Scoffing, Shianni waved her hand dismissively. "Elf or not, Warden, I'll believe you will help when I see it. Still... my cousin Soris told me what you did to free him from the dungeons. So… fine… the guards in front of the hospice here won't let anyone into the hospice and won't tell us anything about what's going on inside. Like I told your friend yesterday, these Tevinter mages keep saying the elves they've taken in are being quarantined and treated so the plague doesn't spread, but no one they've taken has come back out. Our people are getting restless, Warden, and I fear that violence will come soon if answers are not forthcoming."

Alim nodded. "What is this plague? Have they said how people are getting it?"

"From the Blight. People started getting it right after refugees began showing up from Ostagar. I guess it makes sense."

"Okay, but why aren't they letting those they treat go? Seems to me if they're curing people there's no reason to keep them quarantined."

Shianni shook her head. "They say their magic can only prevent people from getting it. But there's nothing they can do if the person is already ill. That's why they set up the quarantine."

"I see… Is the front door the only way in?"

"There is another entrance around back, but it is guarded as well. The hospice also connects to an apartment complex. Last week a group tried to sneak in that way. The guards cut them down."

"Zev, Lel? What do you think?"

Zevran rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The front door is out unless we want a bloodbath."

"And the likelihood of innocents being hurt is high," added Leliana. The others nodded.

Zevran continued, "The apartments have lost the element of surprise, though I am certain we are better equipped to deal with guards than the previous group was. But I think we should check the rear entrance first. Perhaps the guards there are not as alert as the others."

Leliana appeared contemplative before suggesting, "And if they aren't, there could be opportunity to utilize more _persuasive_ methods of getting what we want."

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that," scoffed Alistair. "I'd guess that's already been tried."

Alim grinned. "Maybe so… but it has not been tried yet by our own master of manipulation."

Groaning, Alistair replied, "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

Alim looked at Alistair curiously before realizing what he was referring to. "That was not what I meant actually. What you are talking about is over and done with. No, I was simply referring to Leliana's occupational talents, so to speak." He intentionally spoke in vague terms rather than reveal too much about themselves to Shianni and the other elves around them.

Alistair nodded. "Ahhh… gotcha… sorry, misunderstood."

"No worries. Let's go check out the rear entrance to this place."

-==0==-

Leliana smirked as she approached the group, though the gleeful pride in her gleaming eyes made it clear to all that she'd been successful in her task. The rear entrance to the hospice had been surprisingly lightly guarded. As a result, the party hung back while Leliana approached the lone elven guard on duty by herself. It cost the flirtatious bard a few sovereign, but she managed to convince the young man to take a lunch break and leave the door unguarded. It took her all of thirty seconds to pop the lock once he left, and now she was retrieving the others.

"We're in, let's go," she said with a grin, motioning for her companions to follow.

Alistair shook his head while chuckling. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

-==0==-

Alim pushed open the back door to the hospice and peered inside. His first impression was that it was odd that the large main room had few furnishings and was practically devoid of activity save for a pair of guards standing inside the front door and what appeared to be a captain or supervisor sitting at a desk in the far corner of the room. For a hospice, the setup was rather inhospitable. Additionally, there was no evidence that the room was being used to treat people, as common items one would expect to find in a clinic were nowhere to be found. Furthermore, there was no evidence of the elves that were supposedly being treated in here. The multi-room hospice was far too quiet, and the few side rooms would likely have nowhere near the capacity to hold the number of elves that had been taken in.

Before the elven warden had time to formulate more than suspicions, one of the guards noticed him and sharply called out, "Hey! You aren't supposed to be in here!" Alim then fully stepped into the room, with his companions trailing in behind him. Seeing the heavily armed adventurers, the guards immediately moved to attack.

"Try to take them down quietly!" Alim stated while drawing _Spellweaver_. On the surface it was a somewhat ridiculous request, but he didn't have time to explain and he hoped his friends would understand that as much as possible he wanted them to avoid making a racket that would alert other guards. The warden then proceeded to break his own order by swinging his sword in a chopping attack that clanged loudly off of the shield of the guard in front of him.

The supervisor leapt from his chair, only to have his charge abruptly stopped by Wynne's _stonefist_ hitting him in the chest and knocking him down. The old mage then turned to casting buffing spells on her companions. Leliana and Zev rapidly closed the gap between the party and the guard supervisor that was trying to catch his breath after standing back up. They both engaged with their daggers, circling their prey in a well-practiced routine. The powerfully built supervisor appeared formidable, and judging the elven rogue to be the greater of the two threats he spun and slashed hard. Zev deftly ducked while simultaneously deflecting the incoming sword to pass over his head with his right hand dagger. Immediately seizing the opening, Leliana cut loose a short flurry of stabs that found seams in their foe's heavy plate armor. The supervisor grunted painfully, but swung the shield in his offhand to knock her away for the moment.

Zev took advantage of the bard's distraction to use his assassin _mark of death_ talent against the supervisor, and then swiftly struck at a vulnerable looking area. The supervisor whirled around to face the elf once again, only to have his left leg give out from a below the belt kick to the back of the knee from the female rogue behind him. Zev pounced, driving his dagger into the supervisor's neck before ripping it back out sideways. The elf wasn't squeamish by any means, but just for cleanliness reasons he was glad that the resulting spray of blood found nothing but the floor and body of the now dead guard.

The lesser guards engaged with the rest of the party were severely overmatched and fell quickly. Afterwards, Leliana moved to investigate the supervisor's desk while the others checked the bodies or looked around other parts of the room.

"Maker's breath!" Leliana suddenly gasped, drawing the attention of everyone else.

Seeing her expression, Alim knew what was written on the piece of vellum in her slightly trembling hands couldn't be good. "What is it?" he asked softly, reaching for the note.

"Slavery…" she whispered hoarsely, letting him take the note from her hands.

Alim cleared his throat and began to read out loud for his companions. "Bring eight males and six females for the next shipment." His calm demeanor gave way to rage and he crumpled the note in his hand.

Wynne stepped forward and cradled the young elf's balled fist in her hands. "Save the note, Warden," she suggested with a gentle expression. Seeing his seething glare in response, she explained, "Don't let your anger cause you to lose perspective. This is proof of what is going on here. We might need it to take down whoever is behind it."

With an exasperated sigh, Alim threw the wadded up note in his pack. "Of course, you are right…"

"What now?" Alistair asked.

If possible, Alim's expression grew even darker. "Now we go outside and kill every single one of these Tevinter bastards." His tone had a cold matter-of-fact quality that belied the rage bubbling just beneath the surface. He may not have felt kin to the Denerim elves, despite knowing he probably was to at least some of them, but this situation went beyond any possible personal involvement for him. This was the harshest exploitation of a people that were already suffering a hard scrabble existence. He wanted to set things right.

His companions exchanged uneasy glances. "An open battle in an area full of residents milling about, against a bunch of mages?" Zev asked. "Not wise, my friend."

Alim scowled. "Then we get Shianni or whoever else to get everyone to safety first!"

Wynne sighed. "I don't think we should go looking for a needless fight right now. There is much still to investigate."

"Fine, stay here then and _investigate_. I shall go deal with them by myself!" Scorch whined low in response to his master's outburst.

"You are not invincible!" Leliana stated emphatically. "You are right to be upset, but don't let it cloud your judgment, Alim. There are at least 8-10 mages out there. It is irrational to even suggest taking them on alone!"

"What would you have me do then?" he demanded. With his hood on and his head tilted down slightly, Leliana couldn't meet the defiant glare she knew was coming from his deep emerald eyes, but she briefly glared back anyway before averting her eyes without saying anything further.

"Calm down, for one," replied Alistair. "Come on, man, you know we're in this with you. But we can't just go running out of control headlong into battle. Especially not a battle we don't need to fight right now."

Alim responded with a huff, throwing his arms up in the air and turning away from his companions. He let his hands come down on top of his head, where he intertwined them and let out an exasperated sigh.

After thirty or so seconds of silence, Leliana grabbed a surprised Alistair by the arm and pulled him towards the other side of the room. She almost smiled at his look of bewilderment when she finally turned to face him. Nodding in the direction of the elven warden maybe 25 feet away, she whispered in an insistent tone, "You need to take control here."

Alistair's eyes opened wide. "Wh-what? Why?"

"Alim is obviously not himself right now. He is not thinking rationally. Whether he will admit it or not, he needs our help. I will step up and do it if you will not, but it should be _you_ that leads now."

Sighing in resignation, Alistair nodded. "Alright, I'll do it. You think check out the apartment complex this place connects to?"

Leliana smirked at Alistair's first action as 'leader' being to ask her what they should do. She simply nodded in response though, and Alistair began strolling back towards the group.

"Come on, gang. If they've been shipping people out of here with no one noticing, they probably have to take them through the apartment complex into the back alleys. Let's head that way and see what turns up."

When Alim dropped his arms to his side but made no move to follow the others towards the part of the hospice they'd yet to explore, Leliana walked up and hooked her arm around his. In a tone that was equal parts compassionate and demanding, she said, "Come." He didn't reply verbally, but she knew he acquiesced when he followed without argument and made no move to untangle his arm from hers as they went to catch up with the others.

-==0==-

Alistair led the team down a long dimly lit hallway. He paused in front of a door to a side room and motioned for everyone to be alert before pushing the unlocked door open with his shield arm. Upon the group entering the room, the lone mage guarding a cage containing half a dozen elves leapt to her feet and began to attack. She pushed a _fireball_ spell at the tightly clustered group, the explosion wounding and knocking most of them down. At the head of the pack, Alistair bore the brunt of it, but had ducked under shield cover before the impact and escaped with minor injuries. The former templar countered with the righteous fire of _holy smite_, which stunned the mage and immediately drained off most of her mana.

Getting to his feet, Alim raced in with Scorch at his side and slashed away at the weakened enemy mage, while arrows rained in from the two rogues. Wynne concentrated on healing her companions of the damage they'd taken from the initial fireball. Alistair rallied his friends to a swift victory. With the guard dead, all attention turned to the makeshift prison in the corner of the room, which was little more than an oversized dog kennel that the elves had been locked in.

"Help us, please!" one of the elves pleaded. "We're not sick! You have to let us out of here!"

Alim retrieved the key from the fallen guard's body and unlocked the cage. "I do not think being sick had anything to do with you being locked up," he offered as he opened the door.

Most of the elves ran as soon as they were let out, but one stayed behind. He appeared to be in his mid 30s and had long red hair. Most noticeably he was sporting a nasty looking black eye and bruises from where he'd obviously been beaten. "I thank you for getting us out, friend. I pretended to be sick so I could get inside and see what was going on, only to find out the hard way that this _quarantine_ is nothing but a front for a slave trading operation."

"Yes," Alistair agreed grimly, "we found a note at the captain's desk up front that looked like a shipping manifest, except for people."

"Stinking mages!" the elf snarled in disgust. "I told Valendrian not to trust them!"

Alim shook his head slightly. "Well, you may want to rethink lumping all mages together, especially since you were just rescued by one."

Glancing at the elderly female mage in the group, the elf sighed. "Anyway, thank you again for your help." Extending his right hand to the younger elf, he added, "I'm Darrian Tabris. You guys look pretty capable, if you're able to get to the bottom of this and find out what happened to Elder Valendrian and the others, it would be much appreciated."

Zev's face twitched at the elf mentioning his name. _"This is bad…"_

Alim nodded, grasping the man's hand in a firm handshake. "Alim Surana. And that's the-" He stopped in mid-sentence when Darrian yanked his hand back as if he'd just touched a hot stove.

"Wh-what?" Darrian asked in disbelief. "It can't be!" Suddenly he understood that the elf in front of him saying a mage rescued him wasn't a reference to the old shemlen, it was to the elf himself.

Alim looked at the older man in complete bewilderment at his reaction. "What do you-"

As fast as the man's expression had changed from gratitude to shock, just as quickly it changed from shock to fury. Darrian pulled back the hand that he had shaken Alim's hand with moments earlier into a balled fist and brought it forward, the force of the blow to his face knocking the unsuspecting elven warden on his rear. Though it stung, Alim was more surprised than physically hurt by the man's action. He made no immediate move to get back up though, simply staring at the man in bewilderment.

In a flash, Leliana drew her twin daggers and jumped between the two men, glaring furiously at Darrian. "You'd better have a good reason for hitting him," she growled.

Darrian scoffed. "What's it to you, Shem?" Shaking his head, he pointed an accusing finger and continued angrily, "It's _his_ fault that Shayla is dead!"

"What are you talking about?" Alim asked. "I do not even know who that is!"

"Your mother…" Zev muttered softly but loud enough for all to hear.

Darrian scoffed again. "My _sister_!" he exclaimed, implying that his relation to the woman was more important than Alim's. "She died trying to keep the templars from taking _you_ away from her! I told her to let them have the accursed child, but she wouldn't listen!" Alim's mouth opened and closed as he struggled to voice any of the thoughts coursing through his mind.

Alistair replied, "Wait, so… you are Alim's… uncle?"

"As far as I'm concerned, Alim Surana is _dead_. This stinking mage is no family of mine, it died when that templar killed Shayla."

"But how can you blame an innocent child for what happened?" Leliana asked in disbelief, realizing that this was turning out to be eerily similar to Alistair's experience with Goldanna a couple of days earlier.

"_Innocent_?" asked Darrian incredulously. "Throwing a fit and burning half his father's face off is _innocent_?"

Alim's eyes grew even wider. "Wh-what?" Everyone gasped, with the exception of Zev, who already knew the gist of what had happened to Alim's parents. Not having had time to go into detail about what he'd learned, he'd only given Leliana a general overview of the warden's family in the limited time he was able to talk to her away from Alim this morning.

"Yeah, that's what led to the templars coming," Darrian explained harshly. "You blasted him in the face with some kind of magical fire, and the next day the templars were knocking on the door. Shayla refused to give you up, so they took you by force. What did the shems care if a good woman died in the process, especially an elf?"

Alim remained silent, stunned at the revelation. Leliana spoke up, "What happened to his father after that?"

Darrian waved his hand. "Died after his wounds got infected. He was a punk that didn't deserve Shayla anyway, good riddance. Bastard spent more time chasing skirts and trying to sucker people into his latest get rich quick schemes than taking care of his family."

"Are you really going to shut Alim out like this?" Leliana asked softly. "He was a very young child, and obviously meant a lot to his mother for her to sacrifice herself like she did."

"Like I said, he is dead to me. And if he knows what's good for him he won't go near Neria either." Darrian stalked towards the door to leave.

"Do _not_ threaten him," Leliana warned, grabbing Darrian's arm. "Family or not, you are a vile man and I will not hesitate to kill you if you attempt to bring him any harm."

"No, Lel," replied Alim, snapping out of his stupor. "He is right, he is _not_ my family. And we have far bigger things to worry about than this bitter shell of a man. Let him go."

Darrian had the gall to actually appear indignant at Alim's remarks, but before he could reply, Leliana let him go with a shove towards the door. The elf scurried out in a huff.

Finally getting back up, Alim calmly gestured to the cage and said, "This confirms our suspicions. From what Shianni said, there have been dozens of elves taken, but there were not many here. Let's head further in and see if we can find others, or more evidence as to where they were taken."

As Alim moved towards the door, his friends exchanged glances. They weren't sure what to make of his reaction just now, or lack thereof. "Alim?" asked Alistair. "Are you alright, man?"

The elven warden shrugged. "The punch was inconsequential. I was merely caught by surprise."

"That's not what he meant," Leliana suggested gently. "That was a lot to take in just now, yes? Do you need a short break before we continue on?"

"I… no, I am fine," he lied. "But I guess I know now why growing up I never heard from anyone."

Leliana sighed. She knew he was suffering but trying to shut down his emotions and block it all out to avoid dealing with it. But she also knew now wasn't the time to press him on it.

"Zevran?" Wynne asked, "Do you know who that person he insisted Alim stay away from is?"

"His sister, Neria. She is two years younger, and until yesterday didn't know Alim existed. She still lives with their aunt and uncle."

Alim, who had been walking towards the door, stopped in his tracks. "I have a sister?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, your only sibling. And for what it's worth, she seemed genuinely interested in meeting you. And your Aunt Kalli was not so hostile regarding you. She told me more or less the same things your uncle said, and said that your uncle had forbidden her from telling Neria about you. Your sister is a charming young woman, I must say."

Alim turned to face the Antivan elf. "How did you end up meeting them in the first place? I mean, I did not even know I had family?" When Zev's eyes gave him away by flicking over to Leliana and back, Alim caught on. "Ahhh… I see… Anyway, I am sorry about the distraction this has been. Let's go." This time he did make it out of the room and began going further down the hall. His companions shook their heads at his dismissive reaction, but silently fell in behind him.

-==0==-

The group made their way through the apartment complex. Along the way they checked out a number of units that appeared to have been abandoned. In some cases it looked like people left in the middle of dinner and never came back. Though Alim was still much quieter than usual, his companions noticed that he seemed focused again and were glad, albeit with slight concern that he was merely covering up a potentially volatile emotional state. After an hour or so of searching they came across a skittish elf in the hall that initially refused to talk for fear of being taken as a slave himself, but eventually agreed to answer their questions in exchange for some coin. He told them that he'd seen elves of all ages brought through every few days, shackled together like pack mules as he put it. The elves were always taken through the landlord's office, never to be seen again. He also confirmed that he'd seen Valendrian brought through recently with one of the groups of captives. They thanked the elf for the info and moved on.

After several small skirmishes with Tevinter soldiers throughout the complex, the group emerged in a back alley behind the apartments. Surveying their surroundings, Leliana noticed a wounded wolf lying against a wall on the side of the street. As she approached, the wolf attempted to stand to run away, but collapsed and began whimpering.

"Shhh…" she said softly, kneeling down slowly in an attempt not to startle the wounded beast. She could see the blood matted fur on its hindquarters. From the malnourished appearance and the wounds, she guessed that the wolf had come scavenging for food and gotten attacked and left to die. Looking around, she gestured to Zev to bring her a discarded pot she spied a short distance away on the ground. He eyed her curiously but complied.

Dumping out the contents of a greater health poultice into the pot, the bard slid it over to the wolf. "Here you go, girl," she offered gently, standing up and slowly backing away. She then went and joined the others.

Alistair smiled. "At first I thought you were crazy for trying to heal that wolf, but that was actually really nice of you."

Leliana nodded. "I know we've been attacked by our own share of wolves, but this one didn't seem aggressive and I hated to see it suffer."

"Tevinter guards around the corner," Zev interjected. He'd just finished scouting ahead.

"Let's go," Alim said insistently.

-==0==-

"What's this?" a Tevinter guard asked as Alim's party approached. "Another shipment already? We weren't- wait, you're no Tevinter. Who are you supposed to be?"

Alim made a show of looking around, like he was looking for something. "There aren't any elves around in this alley right now are there?" he asked innocently.

"Of course not!" the guard declared, scoffing.

Alim flashed a slightly sinister looking smile. "Good, it is my lucky day." He turned away from the guard and took several paces.

"What are you-" the guard began before Alim suddenly whirled around. The guard's eyes grew wide and his words were cut off from the fireball that exploded on impact with his chest. "Take out the archers!" the elven warden barked out, causing Zev and Leliana to leap into action. Scorch sprinted ahead of both of them, rapidly closing the gap between him and the pair of Tevinter archers further back in the alley. Alistair stepped up to engage one of the other guards that was charging in, intercepting him before he could get to Wynne or Alim, who was still casting and hadn't drawn his sword yet.

Another guard raced towards Alim, slashing hard a moment after the warden released a _stinging swarm_ spell on the guard he'd blown back with the fireball. Alim screeched as the enemy blade found flesh just above his right elbow, carving deep into the muscle. He responded with a short incantation and threw a _cone of cold_, the most recent spell he'd learned. The guard was frozen solid in place. The arcane warrior followed that up with a _crushing prison_ that shattered the guard into dozens of chunks of ice. He felt the familiar warmth of a healing spell from Wynne wash over him, and subconsciously flexed his previously wounded arm to confirm it felt strong again while looking around. He noticed that the first guard he'd attacked was done in by the _stinging swarm_. Seeing Alistair still battling back and forth with the remaining enemy melee fighter, Alim borrowed a trick from his rogue companions' playbook and drew _Vigilance_ from his boot sheath. Approaching from behind, he backstabbed the unsuspecting Tevinter soldier. The sneak attack caused the soldier's defense to drop, exposing him to Alistair's _shield bash_ followed by a thrust from his _Keening Blade_ to the throat. Alim torched the soldier with a _flame blast _for good measure, even though it was already in the throes of death.

By the time Alim turned around to check on the others, Zev, Leliana, and Scorch were coming back to the group after having dispatched the two archers.

"Overkill much?" Alistair asked sarcastically, pointing to the smoldering corpse of the last soldier. "The guy was already dead when you lit him up."

Alim shrugged. "Torching people is apparently just what I do." He turned his gaze away from everyone towards a door ahead of them leading into a warehouse.

While Scorch whined low in response, everyone else exchanged glances. They all knew what Alim's comment was in reference to. Their expressions ranged from frustrated to concerned, but all were negative.

"Warden," began Wynne in a motherly tone, "If we are to determine who is behind the slave trade, it would behoove us to at least _try_ diplomacy rather than attacking unprovoked."

"Or at least give a warning that you are throwing all of us into harm's way," added Zev, slightly irritated. The others nodded solemnly in agreement.

Alim paused briefly. "Sorry…" he offered weakly before starting to walk off. Leliana sighed, shaking her head. She wanted to pull him aside and talk to him, but suspected that under the circumstances it wouldn't go over well. So she prayed to herself that he'd hold it together enough to get through this.


	14. Chapter 14

The elven warden unlocked the door at the back of the alley that had previously been flanked by the two Tevinter archers, using the key Zev pilfered from one of the bodies. Upon entering the warehouse they were immediately stopped by an armed elven woman flanked by a contingent of soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. "We were told there would be no interference from the authorities!"

Alim took a deep breath. He badly wanted lash out with a _fireball _spell, but knowing his companions were already frustrated with him for his prior actions, he resisted the urge. "We are not with the _authorities_," he declared in a voice that was much calmer than he felt. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh? So you fought your way in here simply to ask questions, did you? You will regret this. Believe it or not, we've been given dispensation to conduct our business here."

"To take elves and sell them as slaves?" Alim asked sarcastically.

The lady elf scoffed. "You Fereldans talk a big game about how wrong slavery is, but isn't it funny how quickly the smell of coin overrides such ideals?"

"How can you support this?" asked Alistair in disbelief. "I mean, you're an elf yourself!"

"So I'm supposed to feel kinship for these sheep? I may be an elf, but I am a Tevinter first and a servant of the Minrathous Circle second. That is what matters."

Alim didn't reply, but he knew exactly what she meant. He himself identified with the Ferelden Circle of Magi and the Grey Wardens more than anything. That didn't mean he agreed with her actions, however.

"You can't just take people from their homes and… sell them!" exclaimed Leliana. "It's despicable!"

The elf laughed. "Enough. I am here to halt your slaughter, nothing more. This is the end of the line for you."

Alim held up his hand. "Not so fast, we do not have to fight."

His comments prompted curious stares both from his companions and from the Tevinter elf. "Oh? You didn't come here to seek righteous retribution? What are you here for then?"

"I will explain it to whoever is in charge here. Please take me to them." His friends suddenly understood what he was doing.

"You wish to parley, do you? Hmmm… Very well, I will leave it to Caladrius to decide your fate. Come with me." As she turned to open the door behind her, she added, "Oh, and do be respectful, if you know what's good for you." Alim rolled his eyes but didn't respond other than to follow her into the next room.

-==0==-

Seeing the entrance of the Grey Wardens on the balcony above, the bald Tevinter mage in the middle of the main room below scowled deeply. "I hope there is a good explanation for this, Devera," he said in a condescending tone to the elven woman who brought them in. Alim assumed he was the Caladrius that she referred to previously.

"There is, Enchanter. The intruders fought their way in, but claim they aren't here for revenge." Gesturing to Alim, she added, "This one here asked to talk to you."

Caladrius scoffed before exclaiming in amusement, "Clever, Warden!" Returning his attention to Devera, he sarcastically added, "And thus you thought to bring the Grey Wardens directly to me?"

"Grey Wardens!" Devera gasped. "I…"

Caladrius cut her off. "We are also in the presence of the royal bastard who would be king. Have you no sense, my dear?"

"Wow…" Alistair said, "A slaver calling _me_ a bastard. Be careful with this, Alim."

"Well, it's done. Well met, Grey Warden. I am Caladrius, and I have heard a great deal about you and your friends."

Alim raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You have heard of me?"

Caladrius laughed, waving his hand. "Don't act so surprised. One can hardly get a word out of Regent Loghain besides _Warden_ these days."

"So you know Loghain personally then?" Alim asked. Leliana silently praised the Maker. This was exactly what they needed.

"Ahhh, yes… you would be curious about that, wouldn't you? I've heard you are trying to erode Loghain's support. I imagine it is quite the difficult task, much like washing away a mountain, yes?" Contemplating it further, Caladrius added, "Perhaps you could use some help?"

With the slightest of smirks, Alim inquired, "Do you not already have an agreement with Loghain? Why would I trust you to throw that away?"

Caladrius shrugged. "It's more of an _arrangement_. One that is rather tenuous, truth be told. Not just because of the group of armed intruders standing before me, but also because once the Landsmeet is over we become rather inconvenient to the regent, even though our coin has funded much of his current army."

"So what are you actually proposing?"

"Here is my offer… You pay me 100 sovereigns and allow us to leave with our remaining slaves. In exchange, I give you a letter with the seal of the Teyrn of Gwaren upon it, a letter which implicates Loghain in all of this."

Alistair sighed. "I feel dirty," he said to Alim. "We aren't really considering this are we?"

"You wound me, brother," Alim replied in a mock formal tone before quietly adding, "Consider this the _warning_ you guys asked for earlier."

"Don't look so indignant, Warden, it's just business," Caladrius said contemptuously in response to Alistair. "So… do we have a deal then?" he asked Alim.

Alim rubbed his chin as if contemplating the agreement. After several moments he cleared his throat. "My answer is… _fax ardor incendi ignio_!" As soon as the elven warden finished his incantation, the area surrounding Caladrius burst into an _inferno_ that engulfed the Tevinter mage and the half dozen soldiers flanking him on either side. The flames elicited screams from those caught in it, sending them scrambling to escape the area of effect.

Drawing _Spellweaver_, Alim spun and crashed the blade down on Devera, who equipped only with the shortbow still on her back was in no position engage in close combat. The blow knocked her back, and he immediately followed with an arcane bolt and then a backhand slash. He kept the pressure up, attacking rapidly to prevent her from drawing her own weapon. The nimble female elf managed to duck a chop and get in close enough to unload a flurry of kicks and punches. Alim pushed a _flame blast_ that got the woman off of him, and then took advantage of the separation to cut her down.

Alistair raced to reach one of the two stairways leading up to the balcony. His goal was to prevent the pair of soldiers climbing the staircase from reaching the top. Leliana drew her own bow and cut loose a shot that bore through one of Caladrius' boots and dug into the wooden floor, pinning the Tevinter mage in place within the raging fire below. With that done, she moved to join Zev, who was trying to hold the other staircase.

Zev tossed a couple of acid flasks down the stairs, catching a trio of soldiers in the blasts. The first soldier plowed ahead despite the burning acid bath. Reaching the Antivan elf, he pummeled the smaller man twice in quick succession with his shield before overwhelming Zev and knocking him to the ground. Scorch leapt over the assassin and hit the soldier square in the chest, knocking him back into his own companions and causing two of the three to fall backwards and tumble down a few stairs.

Leliana began singing her _Captivating Song_, the dulcet lullaby taking the soldier that was attempting to crush Zev with its mace by surprise. The soldier stopped and stared at the bard in stunned silence, unable to do anything but be enthralled by her.

The remaining soldier downstairs with Caladrius, an archer, began targeting Alim, who had moved to the railing overlooking the room and begun a spellcasting duel with the Tevinter mage. Alim got off a _virulent walking bomb_ that hit Caladrius, but the _crushing prison_ he followed up with was shrugged off. Caladrius freed himself from Leliana's _pinning shot_ and moved to the side of the room even as Alim's _inferno_ was beginning to wind down. He nailed Alim with _winter's grasp_, the intense cold slowing down the elf's spellcasting speed as he had to concentrate even more on getting the words of his incantations out correctly through chattering teeth. Concentrating so much on the enemy mage, Alim didn't notice the archer joining the attack against him. Alim was stunned by a _shattering shot_, which left him open to getting hit in rapid succession by several more arrows and by Caladrius' _drain life_ spell. The warden slumped forward against the railing, struggling to keep fighting.

Zev got back on his feet and slashed the throat of the soldier stunned in front of him before kicking the soldier hard in the chest to launch him at the companion that had gotten past Scorch while the large Mabari was engaged with another soldier.

Wynne, who had been focused on healing and buffing as usual, saw the elven warden fall forward and cast a _lifeward_ spell to help him recover health. She had just turned her attention towards Alistair when suddenly she heard a loud crash. Glancing back, she saw that where Alim had been standing moments earlier was in flames, the railing was broken, and the warden was gone.

Leliana screamed, abruptly cutting off her singing at the sight of Alim going overboard, crashing to the ground below, and not moving right away. She flipped forward off the balcony, landing gracefully on the ground below. A brief glance at Alim was enough for her to know he was alive, and with daggers in hand she sped over to attack the archer that was assisting the Tevinter mage. She arrived just ahead of Scorch, who had finished off the soldier he'd been engaged with. The two of them quickly took down the archer and then went after Caladrius.

Wynne cast _group heal _and _mass rejuvenation _spells before switching to offense. She moved down the staircase that Zev and Scorch had cleared and began to pelt Caladrius with arcane bolts and ranged attacks from her staff. Zev darted to the other staircase, ascending it to attack Alistair's remaining foe from behind. The two of them swiftly eliminated the soldier and then went to join the battle against the Tevinter mage.

Caladrius was a formidable foe, but faced with five battle hardened veterans and already weakened previously by Alim's attacks, it was only a short time before he fell to his knees and began pleading for his life in surrender. With Zev and Alistair holding the mage at blade point and Scorch ready to pounce if the Tevinter even twitched funny, Leliana and Wynne went to check on Alim, who was awake but groaning and unable to sit up. The bard yanked the arrows out of him and angrily cast them aside, while the older Circle mage went to work on healing him. Alim gratefully took an offered health poultice from Leliana and downed it as well before climbing to his feet and stalking towards Caladrius.

"I s-surrender!" exclaimed the vanquished mage, panting for breath.

Alim scoffed. Gesturing to the series of cages at the back of the room, he snarled, "I say we leave your fate to these elves, see what mercy they see fit to give."

Caladrius' eyes grew wide. "No, wait! Hear me out! Were I to… use the life force of the remaining slaves here, I could augment your physical strength a great deal! Allow me to leave this place alive and I'd be more than happy to perform this… little service… for you."

"Blood magic!" spat Wynne in disgust. "Ordinarily I would disapprove of killing someone who has already surrendered, but I do believe I shall overlook this one."

Alim grinned darkly at Caladrius appearing almost indignant at the old mage's remarks. "You obviously do not know as much about me as you think you do. Oh, and try not to look so indignant, Caladrius. After all, it's just business…" With that he cast a _crushing prison_ that grasped the Tevinter mage and caused him to squirm painfully under the weight of the invisible hand squeezing the life out of him. Zev, standing behind Caladrius, placed one of his daggers on his throat and then in a short but violent motion pushed the back of his head forward while raking the blade sideways. Caladrius gurgled briefly before slumping over dead.

"I think you might have enjoyed that a little too much, Alim," Alistair suggested, shaking his head slightly. "But then again… nevermind..."

"Search the room," Alim ordered firmly. "Find that letter from Loghain he referred to." Zev began checking corpses while the others looked in cabinets and the desk in the room.

The elven warden lowered his hood and wearily ran his hand through his hair. He was glad to have put an end to the Tevinter slave trade, but he was mad at himself for getting arrogant and sloppy. It nearly resulted in getting himself wiped out in the battle. Life seemed to have a way of slapping him back down whenever he started to get too full of himself, and he expected he'd get at least one lecture about it later. He shook his head, knowing he couldn't worry about that now, and moved to unlock the cages. As the dozen or so elves held in captivity were released, one of the older ones approached the warden cautiously. The man was fairly sure he knew who this Grey Warden was.

"Grey Warden?" he asked. "What happens now? What are your plans for us?"

"Plans? Nothing, other than freeing you. Are you Valendrian? Shianni and some others have been looking for you."

"Shianni? Did she send you here? Praise the Maker!"

"Yes. Do you know where the others are? She said there had been dozens of elves taken."

Valendrian shook his head sadly. "Many were already taken to Tevinter. We thank you for saving those of us you could, Warden. We will not trespass on your good graces though." Turning towards the other elves, he said, "Come, everyone, let's go home." With that the elves began to tiredly file out of the warehouse through the door at the back of the room. Alim noticed that the elder seemed to be in a hurry to leave, assuming he merely wanted to flee from where they were held captive as quickly as possible.

"I've got the letter," said Zev, holding it in his outstretched hand to Alim. "Should be good ammunition for the Landsmeet."

Alim nodded, taking the letter and putting it in his pack. "Thank you, Zev." He fell silent again in thought.

Leliana tapped Alistair on the shoulder and nodded towards Alim. Catching on, Alistair cleared his throat and gathered everyone up to leave. Alim fell in behind his fellow warden, absentmindedly petting his faithful Mabari on the head as they walked side by side back through the alienage.

-==0==-

The group was attacked by the remaining Tevinter mages and soldiers upon sight when they approached the hospice again. In an interesting turn of events, the wolf that Leliana had previously helped was still skulking about and joined the fray in her defense, shredding a guard that she was locked in battle with. Alim turned a fallen mage against her comrades with an _animate dead_ spell, adding further to the group's firepower. Though the battle against a dozen enemies, more than half of them mages, was intense, it was relatively brief. When it was over, Shianni came jogging up to them.

"I-I'm sorry for being so rude earlier, Warden. Andraste's ass, you'd think I'd have learned some social graces by now, wouldn't you?"

Alim tiredly waved his hand. "No worries. I know it can be difficult to give people the benefit of the doubt, particularly when you are stressed out and have been burned before."

Shianni nodded. "Still… thank you for helping us."

"You are welcome. By the way, where does Valendrian live? I was hoping to ask him a few questions."

The elven maiden smiled knowingly. It wasn't her place to say, but from what little Elder Valendrian had told her when she saw him come out of the hospice and what she'd witnessed of the battle moments earlier from her hidden vantage point, she had a strong suspicion as to who this Grey Warden was. Gesturing towards a hovel in the corner of the courtyard, she replied, "Over there," adding cryptically, "I hope you find what you're looking for, Warden."

-==0==-

"Ahhh, it's you!" Valendrian exclaimed as he answered the door. "Please, come in, Warden." After the party entered Valendrian's home, the elder inquired, "Tell me, how is old Duncan doing these days?"

"_Not well…"_ Alim thought morbidly before Alistair replied simply, "He died at Ostagar."

Valendrian's smile turned to a frown. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'd heard that many Grey Wardens were lost at Ostagar, but I knew at least some survived and I'd hoped he was one of them."

"Did you know Duncan well?" Alistair asked curiously.

"Yes, Duncan and I were good friends for many years. He'd come here now and then to look for potential recruits, and he'd never fail to help us in at least some small way every time he visited." Seeing Alistair's curious stare, he added, "Perhaps it seems strange that he'd look for recruits here, but Duncan was a man that knew talent could emerge in even the most unlikely of places."

"He was like a father to me…" Alistair admitted in a soft, reticent voice. Referring to the slave trade, the warden continued, "The elves deserve justice for what Teyrn Loghain allowed to happen here, but for me personally, I want to see him hang for his betrayal at Ostagar that resulted in Duncan and a lot of other good men and women dying." Alim couldn't help but be reminded that he potentially took that away from Alistair, even though the older warden hadn't intended that by his statement.

Valendrian appeared thoughtful for a moment. Walking over to a chest, he opened it and rummaged through to find what he was looking for. Turning back to the group, he held a sheathed dagger to Alistair in his outstretched hand. "Please, take this. It was a gift to me from Duncan many years ago, but I suspect you'll get more use out of it than I ever will."

Alistair accepted the gift, unsheathing the blade with slightly trembling hands, as knowing that the dagger had come from Duncan caused a flood of memories. He turned the light silverite blade over in his hands, admiring the craftsmanship while thinking of Duncan. "Thank you, Elder," he replied softly.

Turning his attention to the younger warden, Valendrian sighed gently. "I must admit, it was quite a surprise when I realized who you were, Surana."

Alim perked up at hearing the elder address him by name. "You know me then?" Leliana moved over to her warden, embracing him from behind and resting her chin atop his head.

Valendrian smiled, both from the warden's question and from the surprise at the shemlen woman displaying such an obvious affection for him. "Oh, I didn't recognize you right away. At first I only knew you were a Grey Warden from your short conversation with that Tevinter enchanter, and that you were probably an elf given your size. You don't dress the part of a mage, so needless to say it was a shock when you set the room aflame. Truthfully, I feared you were going to kill all of us. Anyway, I still wouldn't have made the connection if you hadn't pulled your hood down near the end. Scars aside, you look much like your father."

"I have no recollection of my parents…" Alim admitted. "Or of anything else of the alienage for that matter."

"Yes, well, I suppose that's to be expected when you were taken from us at such a young age."

"Do you know much about what happened back then, Elder? Darrian Tabris was one of the ones we freed inside the hospice. Rather hatefully he told me basically everything I know of my family."

Valendrian sighed, having a very good idea of how Tabris reacted to Alim's presence. "Perhaps it is different in other alienages around Ferelden and elsewhere, but not many elves here among us are gifted with magic. The people here are not very different than what you'll find elsewhere. They are very leery of magic, and consequently of those who wield it. But yes… I am well aware of the events that happened some twenty years ago."

"Were you the elder back then?" asked Alistair curiously.

"No, but the Tabris family has been one of the more prominent families in the alienage for many generations, so news traveled swiftly. And young Alim's grandfather and I were lifelong friends. He and I shared many pints over the loss of his daughter, your mother."

"I must know… D-did I really k-kill my father?" Alim asked tentatively.

The elder rubbed his face, frowning as he contemplated what to say. Alim softly added, "Please… just speak the truth."

Nodding, Valendrian answered sadly, "He didn't die directly from the wounds you inflicted, but… yes, that was ultimately the cause of his death." When Alim gave no indication he was going to respond, the elder continued, "I can imagine what Darrian said to you, but you should know that your mother loved you dearly and that few would blame the young child for what happened."

Alim sighed bitterly. "Yes, Darrian made it clear that he still blames me."

In a gentle tone, Valendrian explained, "Your grandfather and grandmother had four children. Darrian was the youngest and Shayla, your mother, was the oldest. Your grandmother died when Darrian was maybe five or six, and after that Shayla filled a maternal role for him even though she was maybe twelve at the time. Truth be told, Darrian was already rather bitter that Shayla fell in love with and married Alyn Surana when she was 18 or 19. Even though Darrian still lived with his grandfather and an older brother and was old enough to take care of himself by then, he still clung to Shayla quite a bit. So when the incident happened and the templars came, I think it was easier for him to cope by placing the blame on you than accepting the choices that Shayla made willingly for herself."

"But I do not understand. If he blamed me and was only what, 12 or 13 at the time, how did my sister come to live with him?"

"I am surprised he told you about her," Valendrian admitted. "Neria was initially taken in by Darrian's older brother Cyrion and his wife. She lived with them until she was maybe seven, when Cyrion's wife came down with an illness and passed on. By then Darrian had married Kallian, and at Kallian's insistence they took Neria in. She has lived with them ever since."

"I see… what was my father like?"

Valendrian sighed deeply. "I will not lie to you, Warden. Your grandfather and I never knew what your mother saw in him. He talked of big dreams of escaping life in the alienage and exploring to the far reaches of Thedas, but he was mostly a petty criminal who exploited others. More than a few times he came crawling back to the alienage from the docks or markets after barely escaping with his life. The Surana family as a whole was of questionable character to be honest."

"Was?"

"Yes… well, you… are the last to bear that surname. Neria's was legally changed to your mother's maiden name, Tabris, when she was still a baby. I… suppose… I could do the same for you, if you wanted."

Alim shook his head vehemently. "They are no family to me. They abandoned me, and I return the favor. My _family_ is right here," he stated, gesturing to his companions. They are the ones that look out for me."

Valendrian nodded. "Do you wish to know more?"

Sighing, the elven warden shook his head again. "I do not think so, at least not for now. Perhaps I will come back with questions in the future, but I believe I have taken enough of your time today. And you must be tired after just being free from the slavers."

"For what it's worth, Alim, it's good to see that you've done so well with your life. Many have done far worse with much more going for them, so for that you should be proud of yourself. Be well, Warden."

As he turned to leave, Alim suddenly remembered something. Reaching into his pack, he removed a sack of coin. "I do not know how much is in here, but we recovered it from the hospice. I think it is only right that it go to your people, given that this coin was made at your expense."

Valendrian appeared shocked after looking inside, expecting smaller denominations but only seeing full sovereigns. "There has to be at least thirty, forty sovereigns here, Warden! You have no idea how much this will help for purchasing medicinal supplies. Hopefully it will help us clear out the last of the plague."

"I pray it does. Take care, Elder."

-==0==-

After leaving Valendrian's house, the group began walking back towards the bridge that led out of the alienage into the market district. Alim pulled his hood back up over his head, subconsciously retreating within to his own thoughts.

"Leliana?" asked Alistair.

The bard looked over at the warden as they walked, curious about the tentativeness of his tone. "Uh huh?"

Alistair looked down at the dagger he was still carrying in his hand and then back over to her. "W-would you consider…. you know… h-helping me attach this to my boot like you did for Alim?"

Leliana smiled at the shy request. "Of course, Alistair. We will need to have a different sheath made for the task, but that will be a cinch here in Denerim."

Alistair nodded, smiling gratefully on the outside even though her instant friendly reaction made him feel another pang of regret over how he'd treated her the day before. Especially when he remembered that she'd been so supportive of him with Goldanna just the other day as well.

"Hey," Zev interjected, "are you guys hungry?"

"Famished," Alistair stated. "I'm going to eat Arl Eamon out of house and home when we get back."

"Same here," Leliana added, giggling at the mental image of a ravenous Alistair rampaging through the kitchen eating everything in sight. Scorch barked to the affirmative as well.

"Well, I know of this quaint little place over here," Zev began, gesturing towards a long rectangular building that appeared to divided up into a number of businesses, "I was thinking maybe we could stop here and get a bite to eat rather than waiting until we got all the way back to the Arl's place."

Alim sighed. "To be honest, I'm exhausted and not feeling particularly social. I would just assume go back to Eamon's and collapse."

"Come on, it will be fun," Zev insisted with a smile. "Support the local economy and all that good stuff, right?"

"Businesses in the alienage could certainly use the patronage," Wynne agreed. She was tired too, but didn't mind stopping for a break before making the trek back to the Arl of Redcliffe estate.

Alistair shrugged. "I'm up for eating sooner rather than later, assuming it's not like… fatal or anything."

"It can't be any worse than _your_ cooking, Alistair," Leliana teased. The warden mock pouted while the others laughed at his expense.

Alim sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to stop, but he didn't really have a good excuse to override what everyone else wanted to do. "Alright…" he replied, reluctantly giving in. "Lead the way…"

-==0==-

The heavily armed group of mostly human adventurers drew stares and glares upon entering the small restaurant, from the handful of patrons and staff alike. Ignoring the reactions, they moved towards an open table at the side of the room.

An elf that looked like he worked here approached with a scowl. "You can't bring that dog in here!" he stated sharply.

Alim waved his hand dismissively. "He is my seeing eye dog, he will cause no trouble for you." The warden rested his hand on the Mabari's collar, giving the hound a slight shove to encourage him to keep walking. Zev and Alistair both had to look away to keep from laughing. Wynne merely rolled her eyes. Leliana was surprised at how easily the lie rolled off her warden's tongue, but thought it was very funny nonetheless.

The waiter started to protest, highly doubtful that this guy decked out in expensive looking armor and carrying two blades was actually blind. But he simply shook his head and opted not to push back. He didn't know who these guys were, but judging from their appearance he knew they could end his life in the blink of an eye if he made them mad. "Have a seat. Your server will be right with you…" he said, trailing off as he scurried from the room. _"Someone else is dealing with these people,"_ he thought to himself.

Scorch whined slightly, prompting Alim to chuckle. "What? You would rather wait for us outside?"

The group sat down at what amounted to a picnic table with a tablecloth over it. On one side sat Alim with Leliana next to him, and Wynne next to her. On the other side Alistair sat across from Alim, with Zev next to him. Scorch lay down quietly on the floor behind Alim and Leliana, and the warden tossed him a handful of double-baked Mabari crunch treats to tide him over until later.

Several minutes went by without a server coming by. Alim closed his eyes and rested his head on Leliana's shoulder, and had already dozed off by the time a young female elf came to take their order.

"Z-zevran?" she asked in surprise. "I-I didn't expect to see you here. Did you come back with your friends to investigate the quarantine?"

Zev flashed his easy smile, the kind that melted hearts. The elven maiden brushed one of her long auburn locks away from her face, blushing slightly despite herself. "Already done," he replied, offering a brief summary of what happened. She looked horrified, but was glad that it was over.

"So are you going to introduce us to your lady friend?" Alistair asked sarcastically, assuming the girl was someone he'd hooked up with during his visit to the alienage the day before.

Leliana rolled her eyes. To her the resemblance was unmistakable, and the moment the girl approached the table she knew exactly why Zev had insisted on stopping here. The girl was rather plain in terms of beauty, but she wasn't ugly and seemed to make up for any physical deficiencies with a vibrant spirit. Leliana was torn as to whether or not this was a good idea, however, and only hoped it didn't backfire and make Alim's bad day even worse. She glanced questioningly over at Wynne, and the older mage closed her eyes briefly and nodded, indicating she had made the connection as well.

"Oh, forgive my manners!" exclaimed Zev, chuckling. "This delightful young lady is Neria."

While the two women at the table gave no reaction beyond smiling politely and the sleeping warden gave no reaction at all, the former templar that had been slow on the uptake did a double take at the revelation. "You mean… as in… Alim's sister?"

Zev nodded. "The one and the same." Continuing the introductions, he said, "Neria, my dear, this here is Wynne of the Ferelden Circle of Magi. This is Alistair of the Ferelden Grey Wardens. This is Leliana of Orlais. Or sometimes Ferelden. I can never keep it straight." He grinned as Leliana shook her head in amusement at the Antivan.

"Born in Ferelden, grew up in Orlais," Leliana offered simply.

Zev continued, "On the floor over there is Scorch, a proud Mabari warhound but as lovable as a puppy." Gesturing to the final occupant of the table, he softly concluded, "And the Grey Warden sleeping on her shoulder there is Alim Surana."

Neria had been tensing up in anticipation, but still gasped slightly, covering her hand with her mouth. After getting over the shock, she walked around to the other side of the table, tentatively approaching Alim as if he might snap at her if she startled him. Unable to stop herself, she leaned forward and delicately pushed his hood back to reveal his face. Tears formed, but not from seeing the battle scars he'd suffered.

She already knew from her conversation with Zevran the previous day that Alim had been disfigured at Ostagar. No, these were tears just from seeing her brother for the first time in conscious memory, as she'd barely been one year old when he was taken away and had no recollection of him. Tears of joy at meeting him mixed with tears of sorrow for all of the lost years. Neria also knew that Leliana was his fiancée, and the happiness that he had someone to love him helped offset her sadness somewhat. At the same time, now that her worry over Uncle Darrian being taken into the quarantine was gone, she was left with anger and frustration at him for never allowing her to find out about Alim.

Without realizing she was doing it, Neria bent forward and kissed Alim on the forehead, her hair brushing against his face and causing him to wake up. He blinked his eyes open, jerking upright in surprise at the strange crying elven girl in front of him invading his personal space.

"Wh-wh-what's g-going on?" he stuttered, trying to get his wits about him. Leliana giggled softly, putting her arm around him and giving a gentle squeeze. Zev and Alistair laughed gleefully at his reaction.

"Alim… I… I'm Neria, your sister…" the girl replied softly, reaching out again to touch his face, to confirm yet again that he was real. Alim's eyes widened even further at the unexpected bombshell and he flinched at her touch. Neria frowned slightly, her lips trembling as she fought back the tears. "I… I am so sorry… until Zevran came to my house yesterday I didn't even know I _had _a brother. No one ever told me…"

Zev cleared his throat. "Her Aunt Kalli went ahead and explained everything after I spilled the beans, so to speak."

Alim contemplated this. "Y-you mean you… after… after knowing what happened, you still wanted to… meet me?"

Neria sighed deeply. "I admit I don't know anything of magic beyond the usual rumors, but I can't imagine that you had any control over your abilities back then or even knew what you were doing. And it's not your fault our mother died trying to keep the templars from taking you away. They are the ones who killed her. I swear… if I'd known about you, I'd have written… let you know that someone outside of your tower cared that you lived. I'm so sorry…" she repeated, beginning to cry again.

Alim stood and wrapped her up in an embrace, struggling with tears himself. "It is okay… it means a lot to me that you care now. I know you are working, but… can you… sit and talk for a bit? Maybe eat dinner with us? I am buying."

Neria nodded, smiling brightly. She joined them at the table for dinner after getting the elf that had originally greeted them to wait on their table.

The next couple of hours flew by, and it was getting dark when Alim and company said goodbye and left to return to Arl Eamon's estate. Alim reluctantly admitted to Neria that he couldn't promise when he'd be able to return to visit, that there was no guarantee they'd even survive what they faced ahead of them. Still, he promised to try, and assuming he _did _survive he'd be back. Remembering what Leliana did for Goldanna, Alistair discreetly left fifteen sovereign with Alim's sister, an act that touched both Alim and Neria and caused Leliana to smile warmly at the warrior. Already taking on the role of the big brother, Alim made her promise to be careful with the money, since having so much in such a poor place would make her a target if others knew.

Walking out the door, Alim placed his hand on Zev's shoulder, causing him to turn to face him. The Antivan elf was taken aback by the intensity of the emotion in his fellow elf's eyes. "Thank you for this," Alim whispered hoarsely. Rather than crack another joke about the awkwardness of the emotion being displayed, Zev simply smiled and nodded in acknowledgment before continuing on.

-==0==-

Later that night, after filling in the rest of the group along with Arl Eamon and Queen Anora on their discoveries in the alienage, Alim finally managed to break away from everyone and go off by himself. It wasn't long this time though before he was joined on the roof by his Orlesian bard, who made no effort to hide her presence tonight. Alim lay on his back on top of his cloak, hands folded behind his head as he gazed up at the nighttime sky. Though truth be told, his gaze was without focus, his sight directed inward at the images playing out in his mind.

"Has it been too long since we've been on the road?" Leliana teased halfheartedly. "Do you miss being outside under the stars at night?"

"Not that… just did not want to chance anyone else requiring something of me. Yourself excluded, of course. I knew you would know where to find me."

Leliana finished laying out the fluffy blanket she'd brought with her. "Come," she replied from behind him, "it is more comfortable over here."

Alim rolled to his stomach to see what she was talking about and grinned slightly. That blanket hadn't come from their room. "Someone is going to be screaming about their missing bed covers."

Leliana waved her hand, grinning mischievously. "Bann Teagan should have locked his door. Oh, wait, I guess he did." Chuckling, Alim got up and went to join her, lying down by her side. When he didn't say anything for awhile, she gently asked, "It was a lot to take in today, no?"

"Yes… I feel… _overwhelmed_…" he admitted. "By both the good and the bad."

"Can I do anything to help?"

Alim sighed softly. "This seems to be how it goes, no? I break and you put me back together."

Leliana frowned but didn't say anything right away. When Alim didn't continue, a short time later she answered his question with one of her own. "This bothers you, yes?"

Alim rolled over, pressing his face to her chest while wrapping his arms around her. "I… I f-feel as if I am becoming burdensome again."

"In what way?"

"Earlier in our adventures it was my physical weakness that was a problem. I have shored that up, but now it is my emotional weakness. It was not lost on me that you all were upset with me today. I realize that I was making terrible, impulsive decisions, when I was even able to make one."

"So your comment about being a burden is only about today?"

"Today, yesterday, the day before that, the day before that… I have pretty much been a mess the entire time we have been back in Denerim. Not to mention what went on in Orzammar not all that long ago. I worry you will tire of it sooner or later."

"Alim," she replied patiently. "Think of how much has happened since we first met in Lothering. Back then you were a wide-eyed Circle Mage barely a couple of weeks into the world for the first time. A grown man to be sure, but a babe in many ways. Ostagar was still fresh, and you and Alistair were being pulled along by a Witch of the Wilds whose motives you questioned but you followed anyway because you had no idea what you were doing on your own. You had a vague plan to gather allies via the Grey Warden treaties and that was it. I am right, yes?"

"Yes…"

"Now look where you are. You, Alim Surana, are one of the most influential men in all of Ferelden. The king of the dwarves owes you his allegiance, the queen of Ferelden pleads for your support because it makes or breaks her bid to remain on the throne. The Dalish owe their continued existence to you, as does the Circle of Magi. Seemingly everywhere we go you inspire people to listen to or follow you. And you are the one that will save everyone from the Blight. At times the wake of your destiny seems so powerful that it threatens to swallow all of us up in it."

Alim scoffed slightly. "I did not do any of it alone, Lel."

"And that is my point. The burden of what we have done, what we still have to do, would crush anyone trying to go it alone. Yet you slip into this mindset at times that it is yours alone to bear, when it is _not_. You feel guilty when I, or the others, have to help prop you up, but you should _not_. And I don't know how anyone holds it together after what you went through today. You are not alone in this, my dearest one, and if my role in our epic tale is to keep putting you back together as you say, it's a role I will continue to play with all of my heart."

Alim gulped. At the last of Leliana's lecture he lost the tenuous control he'd been maintaining over his emotions, and the proverbial dam broke as he turned loose the stress that had been welling inside of him for weeks, that had finally reached the point of bursting with one shocking revelation after another today.

As the tears soaked her warm skin, she held him tightly, rocking him gently while kissing him on top of the head. She made no attempt to get him to stop or to offer any additional words of comfort. She'd made her point and gotten exactly what she felt he needed. Sometimes in life what someone needed was just a good cry, a complete and utter purging of pent up emotion. She'd been there before, she _knew_. All she wanted to do was help him ride it out. And if possible, she loved him even more for not holding back with her, for trusting her to share in his most vulnerable moments.

At some point the bard became aware that her warden had literally cried himself to sleep in her arms. Leliana understood that many people would see this as weakness if they knew, saying it was akin to a helpless baby falling asleep crying in its mother's arms. It hardly fit what people envisioned of a powerful Grey Warden, nor the popular notion that 'real men' didn't cry or otherwise show emotional vulnerability. But she also knew that Alim was stronger inside than he realized. He'd grown so much from when she first met him, mostly for the better. This type of thing, this _breaking _as Alim put it, was not a common occurrence, despite his claims to the contrary. And she meant every word she said about her willingness to put him back together when needed. Fully expecting Alim to be back to being himself in the morning, Leliana smiled to herself as she closed her own eyes and let sleep take her.


	15. Chapter 15

"All ready for your big day?" Morrigan asked the approaching warden, smirking in amusement.

The day of the Landsmeet was finally here. After a night of intensely deep sleep devoid of darkspawn for a change, the elven Grey Warden was well rested and up early, even with him and Leliana waking up at some point in the middle of the night and going back to their room. With his bard and much of the rest of the estate still asleep, Alim decided it was a good time to see if the small study/library in the Arl of Redcliffe estate had any interesting tomes. He wasn't surprised to find Morrigan already up and in the study herself. She was the one that taught him that the personal libraries of nobles were often good places to find rare books of arcane knowledge. Even if that knowledge might have no value to a noble, it didn't stop one from collecting tomes as sorts of status symbols along with other books of history, personal journals, correspondence, and so on.

Alim returned the smirk. "Something like that. I keep hoping I will get to sit on the sidelines and let the arl and queen do all of the public speaking."

"Doubtful. If the regent has any sense at all, the first thing he will do is attack your credibility and force you on the defensive."

"You are probably right. Anyway, find anything interesting in here? Any spell books?"

Morrigan shook her head. "Mostly collections of political history, court documents, copies of genealogical data on various noble houses, that sort of thing. 'Tis a shame, after finding a few nice tomes at Castle Redcliffe I thought his estate here would be more promising."

Alim nodded. Changing the subject he asked, "Hey, do you know much about glyphs?"

Shrugging, the witch replied, "I understand the basic mechanics by which they are formed, though I've never found a need to learn how to produce a specific type of glyph. Why do you ask?"

"The Tevinter mages we fought yesterday used glyphs quite a bit for personal defense, and one of Howe's mages the other day used a _glyph of repulsion_ that sent Sten flying when he got too close. I was just thinking that they could be useful at times when you do not have a companion to keep enemies off of you."

"Repulsion would be a tall order for someone new to glyphs. Perhaps the easiest way would be to learn a simple spell such as _paralyze_, the mechanics of writing a glyph, and then putting the two together."

"That makes sense. It would also be interesting to experiment with laying down overlapping glyphs of different types to see what effect it had."

Morrigan chuckled, shaking her head.

"What?" Alim asked.

"Being a mage of the tower, you have a creative streak with magic that I never foresaw when I first met you. 'Tis like you compose with magic the way your bard composes with words."

Alim grinned at the analogy. "I suppose I think less about spells as individual isolated things and more about the desired effect or state I want. Then I try to figure out how to get there. Not every spell combination I try works out well, but every now and then I hit on something."

"And much to my surprise, I have learned a thing or two about that from you as well."

"Surprised that I had anything useful to offer?"

"Quite honestly, yes. But you know this already." After a moment of contemplation, she added, "I have an offer… if you will… for you to consider."

Alim raised an eyebrow curiously, silently prompting her to continue.

"Yes, well… if you still have the desire, I would be willing to teach you something of shapeshifting."

Alim's jaw dropped open in shock. "But… you-"

"Yes, yes, I know what I said," Morrigan said with slight irritation, interrupting him. "When you asked shortly after we began traveling together, I told you that a tower mage didn't have the aptitude for it. I assumed you to be rigidly dogmatic in your approach to magic, to cast spells through whatever book knowledge your inherent ability could fuel, like the school mistress does. I did not expect you to truly… _understand _magic. You have proven my assumptions incorrect."

"As have you, truth be told. I was on the other side of the fence with all the usual assumptions about apostates. I have learned that being an apostate does not automatically mean one is an out of control menace to society, and that being a Circle mage does not automatically mean one is not."

Morrigan nodded in agreement. "Does that mean you wish to learn?"

Alim smiled. "Maybe after this Landsmeet business is settled we will have a bit of downtime and you can teach me. Thank you, Morrigan."

"Do not thank me yet," she said. Alim detected a hint of forewarning in her tone, and couldn't help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into.

-==0==-

"Alim!" a voice called out as the elven warden was walking past Arl Eamon's personal study on his way towards his room. Alim turned to see Alistair standing in the study with fellow Grey Warden Riordan. Making the short detour, he entered the room to see only the two wardens were present.

"Good morning, my friend," offered Riordan in greeting. Alim nodded in response.

Alistair had a gleam in his eyes as he began to explain why he flagged Alim down just now. "Riordan and I were talking about those documents you found in the Arl of Denerim estate. In addition to the instructions for the Joining, there was also mention of a Grey Warden cache here in Denerim. Riordan thinks he knows where it is, and we're going to check it out after the Landsmeet. Do you want to come along?"

"Sure. What kind of things would be stored in the cache?"

Riordan shrugged. "Ferelden's supply of archdemon blood would be the most important thing. But there could also be weapons and armor, supplies, other documents."

"Archdemon blood?" Alim asked curiously.

"Yes, one of the ingredients used in the mixture for the Joining is blood from the archdemon of the previous Blight. Since Arl Howe had these documents, presumably he and Loghain knew this as well. We won't know until we get there whether or not they've found the cache and done anything to it."

Despite the potential seriousness of the situation, Alistair couldn't resist poking a bit at his friend. Grinning deviously he said, "So, you know, Alim… if the archdemon blood is still there, I guess we'll have what we need if Leliana still wants to go through the Joining."

Alim looked horrified. "Please, do not even joke about that. Do not even mention the possibility to her."

Riordan, not knowing what took place months earlier at the Circle Tower or really even knowing much about the wardens' companions, gave Alim a disapproving look. "I would not turn down _any_ volunteers at this point, regardless of who they are. There are compelling reasons to have as many Grey Wardens as possible to go up against the archdemon."

Alim's anger flared instantly. He already resented Riordan's unwillingness to put his own neck on the line, first in not helping him and Sten in Howe's estate, then not helping the group rescue Alim from Fort Drakon, then after Alim made it back from Fort Drakon declining to join them on any missions around Denerim. The implication that he would put Leliana through the Joining, whether Alim approved or not, was infuriating. "I strongly doubt she even would still want to, but if you try to recruit her I swear I will make you wish I never freed you from Howe's dungeon."

Alistair gestured for his friend to calm down. "Relax, I was just messing around. You know I wouldn't do that to you." Turning to Riordan, he continued, "We understand our numbers are too few, but with the risk involved you cannot expect us to willingly recruit people we are very close to."

"Better to risk other people's loved ones, yes?" Riordan countered cynically.

"And just what exactly do _you_ know of risk?" Alim demanded. "Are you saving your strength for the archdemon? Because I have not seen you do anything besides stand around telling us what _we_ should be doing."

Alistair stepped between the two men. "Let's not do this, guys. Deep breaths, everyone, deep breaths. Think happy thoughts. We're on the same team, remember?"

After a few moments, Alim sighed deeply, rubbing his face with his hand. "Yes… I am sorry." Riordan nodded but didn't say anything in reply.

"Good!" Alistair exclaimed in mock excitement. "Now that's settled, I'm starving. Let's go see what the cooks have made for breakfast." Alim chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at his friend. But he followed him out the door. It wasn't lost on him though that Riordan stayed behind rather than come with them.

-==0==-

The walk over to the Royal Palace, where the Landsmeet was being held, was uneventful. Alim took all of his companions with him, not wanting to take any chances that Loghain might stage a last minute attempt to have him captured or killed off on the way over. Before climbing the stairs to the palace, Leliana pulled Alim aside.

"Do me a favor," she said softly, "be careful in there."

"What do you mean?"

"The regent has to know he doesn't have enough support to win outright, so he likely will resort to grandstanding and trying to bait you into saying or doing something that will discredit you. Do not take the bait."

Alim grinned. "You do not think I can behave myself, eh?"

Leliana returned a knowing look. "You have a passionate spirit, my love. It's a good trait. But your emotions do get the best of you at times, particularly when you are caught off guard and simply react impulsively. I am only preparing you for what to expect. You know he will cast blame on the Grey Wardens again and try to discredit you and Alistair personally. There is a saying, 'if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit', and when it comes to politics you usually find a lot more of the latter than the former. My point is, stick to the facts and don't get derailed by these sorts of cheap tactics."

The elven warden's expression turned contemplative as he thought about what she said. Nodding slowly he replied, "Thanks, Lel. I will be careful."

-==0==-

Ser Cauthrien huffed at the appearance of the Grey Wardens and their companions entering the entrance hall of the royal palace. Motioning for the eight soldiers with her to stand alert, she stalked forward to intercept the wardens.

"I suppose I am not surprised to see you here," she offered in a derisive tone.

Alim smirked, assuming her intent here was merely to insult them as they passed into the main hall. "Yes, well, I did not get a chance to thank you for your hospitality before. I apologize for checking out of Fort Drakon so soon. The staff there was rather insistent that I stay, but truth be told, the accommodations were not really to my liking."

Cauthrien sneered slightly at his nonchalant attitude. She'd personally known a number of the soldiers that died during the warden's escape. She was loyal to Loghain to a fault, but in hindsight wished she'd have found a way to kill the elf when she had the chance at the Arl of Denerim estate such that it wouldn't have been violating the regent's order to take him alive if possible. "You seem to leave a wake of destruction everywhere you go," she replied snidely. "You have torn this nation apart to oppose my lord, and never once tried to understand why he is a hero to Ferelden. But that ends here. You will not get past me to desecrate the Landsmeet itself."

"Wait, you mean you plan to stop us from going inside?" asked Alistair in disbelief.

Nodding, Cauthrien answered, "The nobles of Ferelden will confirm my lord as regent, and once you are gone we can finally put an end to this unrest."

Alim held up his hand in front of him. "We are here at the behest of the queen of Ferelden, and of multiple arls and banns. Neither Loghain nor you has any authority to deny us admittance." The warden could practically see the steam rising from the lieutenant's ears as she stewed in anger.

"The word of the regent and my sword are all the authority I need," she warned.

Oghren hooted. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he exclaimed as he took his battleaxe off of his back. "Bring it!" Cauthrien's troops all hurriedly drew their swords, and Alim's companions likewise readied themselves.

Alim waved his hand. "Stand down," he ordered his companions sharply while maintaining eye contact with Cauthrien. The two group leaders were the only ones not to have drawn weapons. Alim stepped forward to approach Cauthrien. He gestured towards one of the currently unoccupied small waiting areas at the side of the entrance hall before requesting, "Come with me, please," and attempting to take her arm.

The lieutenant immediately batted away his hand even before it reached her. "What's your game, Warden?" she asked suspiciously.

"I wish you talk to you… in private," he added, gesturing again towards the waiting area away from the two groups.

"Why?"

"You say I do not understand Loghain, and I do not believe you understand us. I wish to sort this out, and it will be easier if there is no audience involved. If you still want to fight after that, then so be it." Left unspoken was that she impressed him with her tactical skills back at the Arl of Denerim estate, and he felt that it was a waste to throw that away by killing her. Especially when he suspected that nearly everything she knew about the wardens was misinformed.

Cauthrien's eyes scanned his features, looking for any hint of deception. Finding none, she reluctantly agreed. "Wait here," she commanded her soldiers. Alim did likewise with his companions before going with Cauthrien to sit down in an area still within eyesight but out of earshot of the groups.

-==0==-

"I am telling you upfront, Warden, I will not tolerate disrespect out of you," Cauthrien warned.

The elf nodded. "We have never been formally introduced. I know you to be Ser Cauthrien. My name is Alim."

"You'll understand if I don't want to be chummy with the likes of you," she replied pointedly.

Alim sighed. "What exactly is _the likes of me_?"

"A betrayer of the crown. A traitor to Ferelden. An inciter of civil war."

"Please then, indulge my ignorance by telling me specifically what I did for you to think that."

"Your Order filled King Cailan's head with delusions and led him directly to his death. And now you seek to put one of your own on the throne!"

"Okay, let's deal with these charges one at a time. Did you fight at Ostagar?"

"I was there…" she answered noncommittally.

Alim nodded. "I was recruited from the Circle of Magi and taken directly to Ostagar. We arrived the day of that last battle and the only Grey Wardens I even met were the one that recruited me and Alistair. I stood in front of King Cailan and Teyrn Loghain and was given orders. Alistair and I were to proceed to the top of the Tower of Ishal as soon as the king's forces along with the Grey Wardens engaged the darkspawn, and light the beacon to signal Loghain's forces to charge in and flank the enemy. Since you were at Ostagar, you know that Alistair and I completed that task, yes?"

Cauthrien's hard glare faltered and her eyes closed briefly as she had a flashback of being commanded by her lord to order the retreat once they'd seen the beacon lit, and of his harsh reaction when she initially questioned the decision. "Yes…" she admitted.

"We had a very hard fight to the top of that tower. Loghain had told us it was held by his soldiers, but when we got there it was overrun with darkspawn." Alim pulled his hood down. Cauthrien's eyes flicked over his features, but she gave no other response. She'd seen her share of the horrors of war. "Still, we made it to the top and I lit the beacon just before a darkspawn ogre did this to me," he said while gesturing to his face. "By all rights I should have died, but Alistair and a couple of remaining soldiers managed to take down the ogre, and we were rescued from the top of that tower during the aftermath of the battle. So… please, Cauthrien, tell me… what could I have possibly done differently to not be branded a traitor?"

Cauthrien opened her mouth to speak, only to realize she didn't have an answer. She sighed. "If… that's truly the way it went… then I don't know what else you could've done."

Alim nodded in acknowledgment. "As to the charge that we seek to put Alistair on the throne, that is also not true."

"You lie!" she hissed. "Everyone knows of Arl Eamon's plans!"

It was taking a lot of effort not to lash back at her, but Alim fought to maintain a calm demeanor. "I am _not_ Arl Eamon's puppet. Despite what Eamon wants, Alistair has never wanted to be king and we support Queen Anora to remain on the throne."

"Wh-what?" Cauthrien asked tentatively. "That _can't_ be true. If you support the queen, why is this Landsmeet even still taking place?"

Alim sighed. "Because Loghain wanted more than to play a supporting role behind his daughter. He declared _himself _regent, sought to cast Anora aside. If you go inside the Landsmeet, I promise you will hear nothing from me but corroborated facts about the things Loghain and Howe have done in their quest for power."

Cauthrien closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly but not responding right away. Alim continued, "Now, it is only fair that you have your turn to correct my assumptions about the regent. You said I never stopped to consider why he is a hero to Ferelden. To say I lived a sheltered life is an understatement. Even still, I feel like I understand who he is and what he did for Ferelden. The nation owed him a great debt for his role in freeing us from Orlais. But it was not a limitless debt, and it did not give him carte blanche to do anything and everything he wanted for the rest of his life. Truthfully, I even believe that he still thinks what he is doing is for the greater good. But I also believe he has come to think that he is beyond reproach, that because of what he did at River Dane, no one has the right to question him on anything. And with a mindset that the ends justify the means… that is a very dangerous combination."

"I… know he is not the man he once was, but he is still a great man, Warden. He has earned the benefit of the doubt."

"Perhaps… but at what point does it become legitimate to question the actions of someone who, no matter how great a hero they are, commits or at least endorses the sorts of atrocities he and Arl Howe have been implicated in? You are his top lieutenant, you command his elite forces. Regardless of what Loghain tells the nobility and the public, I know you have to be privy to the types of things I am talking about."

Cauthrien sighed deeply. She'd rationalized away decision after decision made by Loghain on the basis of his past accomplishments, convincing herself that sacrifices were often necessary in the grand scheme to advance a greater goal. Through it all she had maintained her unwavering belief that he'd lead Ferelden to victory over anything they faced, even the Blight. Now, the elven warden was forcing her to confront what she had locked away in the far recesses of her mind behind that wall of blind loyalty. She wanted to hate him for it, to scream at him that he didn't know anything, to defend her liege with her life. But she couldn't. And at the same time, she also couldn't forsake her loyalty.

"I believe in my heart that he only wants what is best for Ferelden. And Ferelden _needs_ its heroes. It _needs_ Loghain Mac Tir."

Alim nodded solemnly. He could feel that he was close to a breakthrough with Cauthrien, and his mind was working in overdrive trying to find the soft spot in her defenses. Finally it occurred to him. "Cauthrien, we have some common ground here." When she looked back at him questioningly, he continued, "I believe you when you say Loghain wants what is best for Ferelden. I hope you believe me when I say I want the same. Loghain is a great warrior and general, no one questions that. But being those things does not automatically make one a suitable monarch. And being a hero of legend does not justify seizing the throne through force. Do you agree?"

Cauthrien hung her head slightly. "Aye…" she muttered in resignation. "When one stands back and looks at the big picture, it becomes easy to see that the corruptible nature of politics is what changed him. It enabled his hatred of Orlais to drive him to madness. He… has done terrible things, I know. But I owe him everything. I wish he could just go back to being the general he was, without worrying about the affairs of state."

Alim silently praised the Maker. Here was the opening he was looking for. "I have promised Queen Anora that despite my personal animosity towards Loghain, we will afford him the opportunity to vacate the regency gracefully and retain his honor should we win the Landsmeet. If he takes that option, perhaps the queen will allow him to return to his previous position." He didn't feel that it was ultimately up to him to decide, but inwardly he prayed this wouldn't be the outcome.

"You wouldn't seek to have him executed?" she asked, still slightly suspicious but less so than earlier.

Sighing deeply, the elf shook his head. "I am not going to lie. I am at war with myself over it. The emotional side of me wants nothing more than to see him hang, while the pragmatic side realizes it would be a complete waste to throw away the skills and leadership he brings when we desperately need them against the Blight. I try to keep reminding myself that personal vengeance is not so important when the main objective is stopping the Blight. But if you have ever faced betrayal, I am sure you understand how difficult it is to accept that."

"I haven't…" she admitted, "but I do understand something of hatred." She wearily ran her hands through her hair, pushing her bangs back behind her ears. "A-alim, was it? I can't believe I'm doing this… I never thought duty would taste so bitter… you and your companions can go into the Landsmeet. I will not stand in your way. But please, show mercy… without Loghain, there would be no Ferelden to defend."

"Thank you, Cauthrien," he replied softly. "For what it is worth, what I just said about Loghain is the very reason I am sitting here with you now. The queen speaks very highly of your abilities, and I do not believe you would be Loghain's top lieutenant had you not earned it. And truth be told, you impressed me back at Arl Howe's estate by outwitting me tactically. Not that I was going to admit it then, of course." Grinning, he gestured back towards the entrance and continued, "When I walked through that door I wanted nothing more than to throw a fireball at you. But reason won out. It would have served no real purpose to kill you, at least not beyond petty personal satisfaction."

"Oh?" she asked defiantly, "You are that confident you would've defeated me?"

Alim held his hands up in front of him. "Just as confident as you are that you would have defeated us. We are warriors, no? We are realists, but when it comes down to it we do tend to have a bit of an invincibility complex."

Cauthrien's hard glare softened and a slight grin tugged at her lips. "Truer words were never spoken."

As they stood up to return to their respective groups, Cauthrien put her hand on Alim's shoulder to make him stop for a moment. "Thank you for convincing me to talk. I admit I was itching for a fight as well, but now… I think we are not as different as I previously thought. And I agree with your sentiment, killing you would have been a waste." She smirked at the warden, causing him to chuckle. Pulling his hood back up he returned to his companions.

-==0==-

The others were mostly in disbelief that Alim had managed to talk his way past Ser Cauthrien, and didn't hold back in letting him know that as they moved further through the entrance hall and down a long hallway towards the grand hall where the Landsmeet was being held. It came mostly in the form of teasing and sarcasm. Some, however, weren't happy with the turn of events.

Oghren grumbled. "It would've taken half as long to just kill her and her soldiers, and save having to do it later on the way out."

Sten agreed, "Sparing one's enemies rarely turns out well."

Alim shrugged. "Sometimes killing an enemy is the best choice. But it is even better when you can turn them to your cause." He glanced over and winked at Zevran, who chuckled in response.

"So, did you make any major concessions we should know about?" Alistair asked sarcastically, but despite the sarcastic tone they all knew there was a sharper point behind his question.

Alim stopped walking and turned to face his fellow warden. He'd gotten the point, but wanted to quickly defuse the budding tension. With a serious expression he nodded grimly. "Yes… I… promised Cauthrien… you would go on a date with her."

"Y-you did wh-what?"

At Alistair's shocked expression Alim burst out laughing, causing most of the others to start laughing along at Alistair's expense. The human warden scowled before cracking a grin of his own, realizing he'd been had. "I could do worse, I suppose."

-==0==-

Having been detained by Ser Cauthrien, the Landsmeet was already underway by the time Alim and his companions entered the grand hall of the palace. Glancing around, Alim noticed that most of the nobility stood on balconies overlooking the hall, while on the floor were various staff members, personal guards, and other onlookers with enough pull to get into the Landsmeet. Arl Eamon was speaking, and already in high form.

"My lords and ladies of the Landsmeet!" Eamon declared from atop a balcony, "Teyrn Loghain would have us give up our freedoms, our traditions, out of fear! He placed on this path, yet believes we should place our destiny in his hands? Must we sacrifice everything that is good about our nation to save it?"

Amidst the genuine applause from many of the nobles, Loghain sauntered into the middle of the hall while slow clapping mockingly. "A fine performance, Eamon, but none here are taken in by it. You would attempt to place a puppet on the throne and everyone here knows it. But who will pull the strings, I wonder?" At the sight of the Grey Wardens and their companions making their way through the crowd, Loghain gestured to Alim and dramatically declared, "Ah! And here we have the puppeteer!"

Murmurs arose from the crowd over the implication. Sighing, Alim waved for his friends to stay put and began walking towards Loghain. _"Looks like Morrigan was right,"_ he thought solemnly.

Loghain continued in dramatic fashion, "Tell us, Warden, just how _will_ the Orlesians take our nation from us? Will they deign to send their troops, or simply issue their commands through this would-be prince? How much Fereldan blood does Orlesian gold buy these days?"

Alim took a deep breath, reminding himself of Leliana's earlier words. _"Don't take the bait."_ Shrugging nonchalantly, he replied, "If I had to guess, I would say the exchange rate is probably comparable to what you have been receiving for selling Ferelden citizens into slavery to the Tevinter Imperium. And, oh yes, I have the documentation to prove it."

"What's this?" demanded Bann Sighard from one of the balconies above. "There is no slavery in Ferelden! Explain yourself!"

Loghain glared harshly at the pipsqueak elf in front of him, drawing himself up to his full height that saw him a full foot taller than the warden. Finally he scoffed, "There is no saving the alienage. The damage from the riots has yet to be repaired, there are still bodies rotting in homes, on the streets. It is not a place I'd send my worst enemy. We have absolutely no chance of holding it should the Blight come here." Turning back the warden, he added, "Despite what you may think, Warden, I have done my duty. I have done what was needed for the good of Ferelden."

"Good of Ferelden? Whose Ferelden are we talking about here? You think the Ferelden citizens you sold off will sleep better at night knowing that being taken from their homes and forced to serve Tevinter masters is helping Ferelden?"

"At least there will still be a Ferelden! You would hand it right back to Orlais!"

"Orlais?" asked Alim incredulously, shaking his head. "You live in the past, Loghain. Orlais has not been a threat in a generation. You need to wake up and join the rest of us in the present. The Blight is the threat here and now."

"There are enough refugees in my bannorn now to make that abundantly clear," added Bann Alfstanna in support of the warden.

Arl Wulff slammed his hands down on the balcony railing in frustration. His own lands had been among the first to fall. "The south is fallen, Loghain! Will you let darkspawn take the whole country for fear of Orlais?"

Loghain waved his hand. "The Blight is real enough, Wulff, but do we really need the Grey Wardens to fight it? They claim they alone can end the Blight, yet they failed spectacularly against the darkspawn at Ostagar. And they asked to bring with them four legions of Chevaliers! Can we really expect the Chevaliers to simply return to Orlais once we open our borders to them?"

In the span of several seconds, images and words flashed in a rapid fire staccato through the elf's mind. Teyrn Loghain arguing with King Cailan in front of Duncan and Alim at Ostagar. The king drawing the teyrn's ire by first suggesting they wait for the Orlesian soldiers to arrive if he was so worried, then pointedly reminding him who the king was. Loghain's expression as he stormed away in disgust. The memories jumped to the warden and companions standing with Arl Eamon at Eamon's Denerim estate, arguing with Loghain about the Landsmeet. Loghain's parting shot in reference to the emperor of Orlais having thought he could take him down too. Then the warden's conversation earlier with Ser Cauthrien, her impassioned remarks that Loghain's hatred of Orlais had driven him to madness. And now Arl Wulff's accusation that fear of Orlais had blinded Loghain to the present realities.

Alim's eyes opened wide in realization. Suddenly it all made sense. The betrayal at Ostagar was all about Orlais. Whether it had been Duncan or another Grey Warden that suggested cooperation with Orlais in fighting the Blight, it had been a grave miscalculation under the circumstances. As had been King Cailan's baiting of Loghain with the suggestion of holding off the assault until the Chevaliers arrived. Loghain pulled out of the battle, leaving the king to die, and then branded the Grey Wardens traitors because he viewed both as Orlesian sympathizers. And the poisoning of Arl Eamon – his wife, Arlessa Isolde, was Orlesian. For Loghain, the thought of the very people he struggled so mightily to repel years earlier regaining a foothold in Ferelden – being _welcomed_ back no less – was more than he could bear. He would do _anything_ to prevent that from happening. So that's precisely what he did.

"This is not about Orlais!" Alim shouted. "And Alistair and I cannot do it alone! We need a united Ferelden, all of us working together! If we could do it alone we would not have spent the last year gaining allies of the dwarves, the Dalish elves, the Circle of Magi, all while trying to avoid your hired assassins and cleaning up your messes! You branded us traitors when we followed the orders you and the king gave us at Ostagar to the letter. You repeatedly sought to have us killed all the while we were making preparations to defend this land from the Blight. You say selling elves was your _duty_? Was it also your duty to hire a blood mage to poison Arl Eamon? And was it your duty to allow Arl Howe to imprison and torture innocents? Was it your duty to attempt to steal your daughter's throne? To eliminate anyone you perceived as being open to Orlesian cooperation against the Blight?"

Gasps rang all throughout the hall as the elven warden leveled one accusation after another against Loghain. Bann Sighard gave an impassioned cry, "The warden speaks truly! My son was taken under cover of night. The things done to him in Howe's dungeon… some of them are beyond any healer's skill!" Bann Vaughan spoke up as well about how Loghain and Howe imprisoned him so Howe could become the new Arl of Denerim instead of Vaughan.

"Howe was responsible for himself!" exclaimed Loghain, though it wasn't a particularly strong argument when everyone knew how close Loghain and Howe were. "Besides, whatever Howe may have done, he should have been brought up on charges. There is no justice in butchering a man in his home the way _you_ murdered him."

Alim scoffed. "Murder? You set me up, willingly sacrificing Arl Howe in a last ditch attempt to have me eliminated before the Landsmeet."

"What is this of a blood mage?" asked the revered mother, impatiently interrupting. "Eamon, is it true that you were poisoned?"

When Eamon nodded solemnly, Loghain snarled. "I assure you all, if I was going to send someone it would be my own soldiers. I would not trust the discretion of some apostate."

"Indeed?" exclaimed Alfstanna. "My brother tells a very different tale. He says you snatched a blood mage from the Chantry's justice. Coincidence? And is it coincidence that my brother turned up as yet another innocent prisoner in Howe's dungeon?"

The revered mother pointed her finger at Loghain in outrage. "Do not think the Chantry will overlook this, Teyrn Loghain! Interference in a templar's sacred duties is an offense against the Maker!"

Loghain sighed in realization of how poorly this was going, of how the tides were pushing hard against him. He had but one last tactic to use. In a contrite tone he offered, "Whatever I have done, I will answer for later. At the moment, however, I only wish to know what this Grey Warden has done with my daughter. I have heard nothing since she was kidnapped."

A slow smile crept across Alim's face. "An excellent question. Why don't we ask her?"

More gasps and murmurs arose as the queen entered the grand hall from the hallway leading to the royal chambers. "Yes, Warden, I believe I can speak for myself." The queen cleared her throat. "My lords and ladies of Ferelden, my father is not the man you all once knew. This is not the hero of River Dane before you now. This man turned his troops aside and refused to protect your king as he fought bravely against the darkspawn. He seized Cailan's throne before his body was even cold and had me locked away at the Arl of Denerim estate so I could not reveal his treachery. And if not for this Grey Warden I would have been killed."

Amidst the cries of outrage, Loghain shook his head sadly. "Not you too, Anora. The Grey Warden has poisoned even your mind against me… I only wanted to protect you from all of this."

Alim rolled his eyes. "Are you withdrawing your claim that I kidnapped her now?"

Loghain sneered at the warden before turning his attention back to the nobles. "Lords and ladies, our land has been threatened before. It has been invaded, lost, and won times beyond counting! We Fereldans have proven that we will never truly be conquered as long as we stand united! We must not be divided now. Stand with _me_, and we shall defeat even the Blight itself! Who is with me?" He glared around the room, practically daring the nobility to side against him.

"I'm with the Warden!" declared Bann Vaughan.

"South Reach stands with the Wardens," Arl Bryland added.

Bann Ceorlic announced in a panicked voice, "I stand by Loghain! We've not chance for victory otherwise!"

Bann Alfstanna exclaimed, "Waking Sea stands with the Grey Warden!"

"Dragon's Peak supports the Warden!" agreed Bann Sighard.

"The Western Hills throw their lot in with the Wardens," declared Arl Wulff. "Maker help us all…"

"The Blight is coming! We need the Grey Wardens!" shouted another noble.

Alim exhaled audibly in relief. But almost as soon as relief set in, he began to feel a flood of anxiety rising up to drown it. The moment of truth was at hand. How would Loghain react? "It's over, Loghain," the elf began. "The throne belongs to Queen Anora. It is time for you to gracefully step aside."

Loghain glared around the room in outrage. He couldn't believe that even with what he'd done that the Landsmeet went against him. No, he _refused_ to believe it, and he absolutely wouldn't accept this decision. Enraged, he screamed out at all of the nobles, "Traitors! Which of you stood against the Orlesian emperor while his troops flattened your fields and raped your wives?" Turning to Eamon, who called the Landsmeet in the first place, he wagged an accusing finger and stated, "You fought with Maric and me once, Eamon. You cared about this land once… before you got too old and fat and content to even see what you risk!" Loghain then waved his arm furiously, declaring, "None of you deserve a say in what happens here! None of you have spilled blood for this land the way I have! How dare you judge _me_?"

"How dare _you_ stand here and act like you are without reproach?" countered Alim angrily. "How dare _you_ act like yours is the only voice that matters in deciding our futures? Ferelden belongs to more than just you!"

"How easy it is for someone who has never had to bear the burden of a nation on their back to judge. How easy it is to second guess the hard decisions _you_ have the luxury of not having to make."

Alim shook his head slightly. "Perhaps… but you obviously knew some of these _hard decisions_ were wrong in the first place, otherwise you would not have lied about them or attempted to shift the blame."

Loghain scowled again. "I invoke my right of appeal!" he exclaimed angrily. Alim looked around towards the other nobles in confusion.

"Are you certain of this, Loghain?" asked Eamon from up above.

"Positive."

Eamon sighed. "Let the record show that Loghain Mac Tir, Teyrn of Gwaren, appeals the decision to remove the title of Regent and restore Queen Anora to the throne."

"What does that mean?" asked Alim, having no idea what was going on.

Anora cleared her throat. "According to custom, a duel will take place between a champion representing my father's side and a champion representing my side. The outcome will determine who leads Ferelden."

Alim shook his head incredulously. "So, what, we are dwarves all of a sudden? Whoever wins is the will of the ancestors?"

Loghain scoffed at the elf's lack of knowledge of Ferelden tradition. "I will represent myself."

Anora spoke up. "I defer to the Grey Warden. He will choose who faces you."

"What are the terms?" Alim asked in resignation. His mind had already subconsciously assimilated the new information and shifted gears to figuring out a strategy.

Bann Alfstanna spoke up. "It shall be fought according to tradition. Single combat between the two contestants, to continue until one either yields or is killed. And we who are assembled shall abide by the outcome."

Alim nodded in understanding. "May I have a few minutes before making a decision?"

Eamon waved his arms. "Fifteen minute break!" he declared to the room. "Adjutants! Clear the floor in preparation!"


	16. Chapter 16

Anora hastily made her way over to where the warden was consulting with his companions. Despite his calm outward appearance, she could see the agitation in his eyes when he glanced over at her approach.

In as even a tone as he could muster, Alim said, "I would have appreciated someone telling me in advance about this duel, instead of allowing me to be blindsided."

The queen nodded sympathetically. "I am sorry, I didn't realize that Eamon had not prepared you for what to expect. I assumed you already knew." Her eyes flicked briefly over to Leliana. Anora was also surprised that the bard either hadn't known or hadn't thought to tell him. For her part, Leliana had been mentally kicking herself ever since Loghain invoked his right of appeal. It didn't matter if political matters were settled differently in Orlais, she felt that details like these were her business to know, and in this instance she failed her warden. And she was not happy with herself about it.

Alim bit his bottom lip, cynically thinking to himself that he would not be surprised if the arl had conveniently _forgotten _to tell him.

Morrigan shook her head. "'Tis irrelevant at this point. What _is _relevant is who will face the teyrn."

Oghren shrugged. "I'll give him a go. Beats all this sodding standing around, I swear I'll sprout roots before long."

Morrigan shook her head again. "I would have a better chance than you, dwarf."

"I have no fear of trying, but this does not exactly play to my strengths," admitted Zev.

"I will," Sten offered matter-of-factly.

"_I_ will," stated Alistair tersely. The others glanced over at him. "What?" he asked irritably.

Alim smirked. "I should just let Scorch eat him." The Mabari barked affirmatively.

The queen fidgeted uncomfortably at that suggestion, not sure if the warden was being serious or not. "No offense, but perhaps we shouldn't leave the future of our nation to a dog, no matter how strong and loyal he is."

Scorched whined low, and Leliana quietly patted him on top of the head in reassurance. Alim glanced over at her. "What do you think, Lel?"

The bard looked up. "Hmm? Oh…I…" She paused. What she really wanted to tell him was to let Sten, or even Alistair, do it. Anyone but _him. _But she knew this was precisely the type of situation she referred to a couple of nights earlier, where she needed to be mindful of her influence allowing her to manipulate him. Especially considering that she harbored no delusions that her opinion on the matter was anything but selfish. "I… think… whatever you decide will be the right thing."

With the exception of Anora, who wasn't very familiar with the dynamics between Alim's companions, everyone glanced curiously at the bard, surprised at her unwillingness to offer an opinion. It took a moment for the elven warden to recognize what she was doing, and once he did he found himself both appreciative and slightly annoyed at the same time, the latter because he actually wanted her input. When he realized she wasn't going to give him anything else, and that the others were now looking to him for a decision, he nodded slightly.

"Thank you for the offers, guys, but I will do this myself."

Alistair protested. "Alim, single combat is hardly your area of expertise. Loghain would be a tough challenge for me, and I can take you easily."

Alim quickly scanned the expressions of his companions to gauge their reactions. Despite no one immediately agreeing or disagreeing out loud with the former templar, body language seemed to suggest that some of the others were questioning the wisdom of Alim taking on this fight as well. "Are you saying I cannot use magic? Is that something else that hasn't been explained to me?"

"As long as a combatant doesn't receive outside assistance, they are allowed to use whatever skills they have at their disposal," Anora explained.

"What can you tell us about your father's fighting style?" asked the elven warden.

Anora sighed deeply at the prospect of helping the warden defeat her father, even though she knew it was an unavoidable necessity at this point. "He is a fierce warrior, and despite his age he is still incredibly strong. He is likely to cleave someone of your stature in half should he land a clean blow. I… ask that you consider the importance of this duel… should my father win, we will all likely be executed… if one of your companions would be a better choice-"

Morrigan scoffed, interrupting the queen. "Speak plainly. You do not trust your life to this elf."

Anora glared back irritably. "I am simply suggesting the most practical approach given the stakes."

The witch started to retort when Alim waved his hand. "If Queen Anora doubts me… probably every other noble here does as well." He continued to explain, "And obviously some of you doubt me too. That is precisely why I _need_ to be the one to fight Loghain."

Leliana bit her lip tensely. _"He is determined to prove himself capable, even if he gets killed in the process."_

Alistair shook his head. "Don't let your ego get in the way here, Alim."

"Alistair… it is not that. You know people are scared about the Blight we face ahead of us. When that horror comes, they need to believe in us and our ability to defeat it."

"What does that have to do with fighting Loghain?"

Alim sighed. "Truthfully, I do not know how to explain it without it sounding ego driven…"

"Which should probably tell you something, right?" Alistair countered, folding his arms across his chest.

"You guys know me. I need you even more than you need me. But while we are all important, I feel like these nobles see me as the leader of our little group. When they were voting earlier, some of them even phrased their support in terms of me specifically. If they are questioning whether or not I am capable of becoming the symbol of hope Loghain has been. I… feel like they need to see _me_ take him down."

"Nah, that doesn't sound egotistical at all," Alistair replied, his tone practically dripping with sarcasm. "Leliana, will you please talk some sense into him?"

The bard shook her head firmly. "I believe in him." She did _not_ want her warden dueling Loghain, and she was confident that she could convince him to let Alistair do it instead. But she also knew it was critically important for Alim to know that _she_ believed in him. So she wasn't going to discourage him, no matter how selfishly appealing that thought was. She had already resigned herself to praying fervently for his safety.

"Fine…" Alistair grumbled, admitting defeat. "Just… be careful out there, okay?"

Alim sighed again, but noted the tinge of concern for his safety in his fellow warden's voice. "Guys, trust me… please? I swear I am not doing this just to stroke my ego. I know what the stakes are, and I do not take it lightly. You know I would not risk our lives… the future of the country even… if I was not confident I would win."

Zev grinned slightly. Attempting to lighten the mood, he suggested, "True enough. You would certainly risk your own life to prove a point, but not the lives of others."

Seeing the Antivan elf's expression, the warden replied with a smirk, "Exactly."

"If you are sure of this…" Anora began tentatively before trailing off.

"Make sure you guys are at a safe distance from the action," Alim said sternly, choosing not to respond to the queen. "I do not want anyone getting hit by friendly fire." He began walking away while starting the process of casting buffing spells.

-==0==-

Loghain was already armed and waiting for the approaching Grey Warden. "Interesting, I was certain you'd have someone else stand in for you," he said in a condescending tone.

The elven warden shrugged. "You are hardly alone in expecting me to get slaughtered by you. I suppose I do not listen to people telling me I am being an idiot any more than you do."

"Then let us end this!" Loghain sneered before his tone softened. "I… suppose we both knew it would come to this. Maric once told me that a man is made by the quality of his enemies. I wonder if-"

Alim held up his hand, interrupting the teyrn. "Spare me the lecture," he stated in a taciturn tone. "You see enemies where none exist. I am not your enemy any more than Orlais is presently. We should be standing as allies, yet you cannot stop chasing shadows of the past."

"Enough!" shouted Loghain, waving his longsword menacingly while beginning to move towards the warden's side. Alim responded by moving away, resulting in the two men slowly circling the area while glaring at each other. Noticing some nobles and aides apparently wanted a very up close view of the duel and were in danger of being hit with spells, Alim shouted angrily for them to get out of the way before they got hurt. Despite his physical stature, the warning in his voice sent them scurrying.

While circling the regent, Alim finished his spell preparations. In addition to the _arcane shield, shimmering shield, spell wisp, _and _telekinetic weapons_ spells he'd already cast, he cast a _spellbloom_ on the area to boost his ability to recover mana during the early part of the duel. He twirled _Spellweaver _in his right hand, the simple act serving to calm his nerves as he took inventory of his opponent. By the warden's estimate, Loghain stood between 6'2" and 6'4", making him a full foot taller than the elf. The regent didn't wear a helm, but his height advantage coupled with how high the plates of his armor stood off his shoulders gave his shorter opponent little possibility of landing a head shot. After circling the small area with Loghain a few times, Alim finally settled into a stance with two-handed grip on the sword. He'd need all the power he could generate both for offense and defense against this foe.

Loghain let out a fierce war cry and charged the warden. Anticipating the charge, the warden already had a _mind blast_ incantation on the tip of his tongue. What he didn't anticipate was the warrior resisting it. Loghain slammed his shield into the side of the elf, catching his right shoulder and upper arm full force. The blow knocked Alim from his feet, the impact of hitting the ground dislodging his sword from his grasp. As the elf's blade clanged on the ground, Loghain pounced and brought his own sword down in a hard chop. Alim rolled to the side and managed to avoid the first strike that drew sparks from the stone floor it collided with. But Loghain was quicker than his appearance would suggest. He immediately followed up with another chop that caught the rolling elf. The thick drakeskin armor held, but the blunt force trauma echoed painfully through his left hip. The regent wound up to strike again when Alim threw a _flame blast_ that halted his advance. Still, he had the presence of mind even while retreating to kick the warden's sword well out of reach.

Loghain grimaced from the heat of the fire singing his exposed flesh and warming his body to very uncomfortable levels inside his heavy armor, though he wasn't badly hurt because he'd applied a greater warmth balm before the duel. Cauthrien had warned him in advance about the warden casting fire-based magic. Catching his breath, he snarled at the elf that had just scrambled to his feet and drawn a short blade from a boot sheath.

"Just as I thought, you're nothing but a child playing at war!"

"And you are still fighting a war that has been over for thirty years!" Alim countered.

Loghain stepped forward and swung his sword, a telegraphed attack but one he still expected to knock the elf back solely from the force behind it. The warden sidestepped the chop rather than attempting to parry, then executed a jumping spinning backhand slash that caught the older man by surprise. The tip of _Vigilance_ drew blood as it raked angrily across the regent's right cheek and nose. Alim jumped back to avoid the shield bash Loghain responded with, backpedalling enough to unload a _fireball_ without being caught in the blast radius himself. He raised an eyebrow quizzically when his opponent both shrugged off the concussive effect of the fireball and didn't appear overly hurt by the flames, but he didn't have long to contemplate it because Loghain charged again.

Acting on instinct, Alim cast another _mind blast_ even though it had failed the first time. It failed again to stop the warrior, leaving Alim open to the vicious incoming slash. The blade ripped through the cloth of his cloak and split the armor, digging deeply into his left shoulder. He hissed through clenched teeth at the pain, retaliating with a stab that deflected harmlessly off the regent's shield. Loghain then snatched Alim by the front collar, yanking the elf towards him while simultaneously bringing the pommel of his sword forward in a right cross that snapped the younger man's head sideways and split open his bottom lip where it smacked against his teeth. The warden didn't stagger back, however, because Loghain didn't let him go. The regent growled menacingly, snapping his head forward. His forehead connected violently with the warden's face, shattering his nose. The resulting gash spurt blood on both combatants, and Alim's eyes watered heavily from the injury, to the point of blinding him. He swung his dagger blindly, connecting weakly a couple of times with the regent's chest plate, not doing any damage but at least causing the warrior to let go of him. This time the elf did stagger backwards, desperately trying to clear his vision.

-==0==-

The warden's companions were in varying stages of worry over how the duel was progressing. Sten was impassive as he observed, knowing that the winds often shifted multiple times in a battle, and that even a seemingly overwhelming advantage could disappear in one fell stroke. Wynne alternated between resting her forehead in her hand and shaking her head while watching in short spurts. She hoped she was wrong, but she expected the warden to lose. And the way things were going did nothing to make her think differently. Oghren was like an overexcited fan, jumping up and down while cheering and jeering. Morrigan paced, the agitation in her expression was more than clear. She couldn't fathom why the warden was spending so much time trying to fight conventionally instead of unloading his arsenal of offensive magic. She was concerned that he was going to get himself killed and ruin everything.

Alistair was reacting negatively to nearly every part of the action, running his hand through his hair as if he was going to pull it out, huffing and grunting irritably. He was mad at Alim for insisting on taking this fight, mad at himself for not pushing harder to be the one to go against Loghain, mad at their other companions for not backing him up on it, and mad at Leliana for picking this one inopportune time to decide not to influence Alim.

Leliana sat on the ground next to Scorch, leaning forward with her arms wrapped around her knees, which were pulled up to her chest. She was struggling to keep her emotions in check and didn't want to watch what was transpiring. But like being a bystander to a wreck, she couldn't pull her eyes from the scene in front of her. The sight of her warden being throttled by the teyrn was petrifying enough, but when she saw the blood fly from Loghain breaking his nose she felt a lump in her throat that held back the gasp she was unable to produce. When Alim staggered back while grasping at his face, all she could do was let out a silent scream of sheer terror in her mind at what followed. Loghain swung his sword over his head in a grand flourish before bringing it down in a tight and powerful arc aimed directly at the warden's neck. It was obvious, the regent was going for the kill – and Alim wouldn't see it coming before it was too late.

-==0==-

The young elf was a veteran warrior at this point, and like all experienced warriors he had an internal clock coupled with a sense of awareness that governed many instinctual reactions on the battlefield. It was a survival instinct that often kept one alive amidst the chaos. So even though Alim was struggling to clear his watery vision after the regent's headbutt broke his nose and couldn't see the follow up attack coming, he anticipated it. The warden blind cast a _cone of cold_ out in front of him. The instant the spell snap froze his foe he felt a sharp sting along the left side of his neck. Wiping his eyes clear one last time, he blinked a couple of times before his eyes snapped wide open in shock. The sting he'd felt on his neck was the edge of Loghain's longsword slicing the skin. As the thin scarlet line grew thicker from blood seeping out, Alim gulped slightly in realization that he would be dead if he'd have been even a split second later in casting his spell.

Regaining his focus, Alim's expression turned grim. "Goodbye, Loghain," he whispered, and then cast a _crushing prison_ spell, fully expecting it to shatter the frozen warrior and end this once and for all. To his surprise, the statue of ice vibrated visibly but refused to give way to the pressure of the _crushing prison_. The elf shook his head. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but be impressed with the older man's sheer force of will to resist mental and physical attacks that few could stand up against. Taking advantage of the time afforded by freezing Loghain, Alim retrieved _Spellweaver_ and moved behind the regent.

Still trapped in the _crushing prison_, Loghain gasped as the _cone of cold_ wore off and he regained his faculties. He mentally fought off the invisible force that was squeezing him, but before he could locate the warden, he felt a sharp stab in his back. Alim drove _Vigilance_ between the armored plates and into the regent's flesh, paralyzing him in place. Rather than pull the blade back out, he left it, and with a two-handed grip on his longsword he spun around and chopped hard at the front of his foe. The force of impact caused both a loud clang that reverberated throughout the hall and the regent to be knocked back.

After reluctantly sucking down a lyrium potion, the warden cast a _stinging swarm_ spell that turned loose dozens of tiny summoned insects on the regent. As soon as the paralysis effect of Alim's earlier attack faded, Loghain began waving wildly in an attempt to shoo away the insects that were stinging and tearing at whatever flesh they could get at, while simultaneously reaching around and yanking the dagger out of his back and casting it aside.

The warden elicited gasps from a large portion of the room by casting his arcane warrior _combat magic_ spell and turning translucent white, taking on the appearance of a Fade spirit. Loghain was taken aback for a brief moment, but quickly recovered his focus. He let out a loud war cry and charged the warden once again. Fully prepared this time, Alim ducked the incoming shield bash and slashed hard at the warrior's left knee, the attack splitting the seam between the armored plates and carving through the ligaments. Loghain's leg immediately gave out and he toppled over, screeching in pain while grasping at his knee.

Alim twirled his blade in a short figure eight pattern while moving to press the attack on his weakened opponent. He was pulling _Spellweaver_ back for a thrust when Loghain suddenly held up his hand in front of him.

"I… y-yield," he choked out painfully. Seeing the warden's furious gaze as he stood over the regent like a tightly wound spring ready to uncoil, he hurriedly continued, "I was wrong… I underestimated you, Warden. I thought you were like Cailan, a child wanting to play at war. I see now… you have a strength to you I haven't seen since Maric died."

The elf continued to glower at the older man. He desperately wanted to plunge the tip of his sword into the throat of the man who took things this far. But at the same time, Loghain yielding meant it was over. His raised sword arm trembled as the debate raged in his head.

"What are you waiting for?" Alistair demanded, stalking forward. "_Kill_ him already!"

Riordan approached at a brisk pace. "Wait! There is another option!" When the other two Grey Wardens looked over at him, he continued, "The teyrn is a warrior and general of renown. Let him be of use. Let him go through the Joining."

"Wh-what?" Alistair exclaimed incredulously. Alim appeared shocked as well. But realizing that Loghain was no longer going to fight back, the elf terminated all of his buffing spells and returned to his normal appearance. He felt beaten to hell, but pride wouldn't let him heal himself in front of the others. Especially not when Loghain had managed to get off the ground and stand with most of his weight on his good leg while holding back any utterances of discomfort from his shredded knee. It was for the same reason Alim had refused to heal during the battle and only as a matter of pure necessity gave in and used a lyrium potion.

"Look, there are only _three_ of us in all of Ferelden," Riordan explained. "There are very… compelling… reasons to have as many wardens on hand as possible to deal with the archdemon."

Anora cleared her throat. "The Joining is often fatal, is it not? If he survives, you gain a general. If not, you have your revenge. Does that not satisfy you?" Riordan nodded his head in agreement.

"_Apparently that 'secret' about the Joining is more public knowledge than we thought,"_ Alim thought at Anora's remarks.

"Absolutely not!" Alistair protested angrily. "Being a Grey Warden is an _honor_, not a punishment! Riordan, this man abandoned our brothers and then blamed us for the deed! He hunted us down like animals! He tortured you! How can we simply forget that?"

"We aren't judges, Alistair. Kinslayers, blood mages, traitors, rebels, bandits… anyone with the skill and mettle to take up the sword against the darkspawn are welcome among us."

Alistair shook his head vehemently. "No, not in Ferelden. I will _not _stand by this man as a brother!" Turning to Alim, he practically pleaded with the younger man, "You told me I could be Warden Commander. So I should have the final say, right? Would you take that away from me now as well?"

The weary elf rubbed his face tiredly, wincing briefly when his palm bumped against his still broken nose. Sighing heavily, he shook his head slowly. "No, Alistair, I would not. If you say no, then Loghain will not go through the Joining."

The look of gratitude on Alistair's face was unmistakable. Nodding, he declared, "I want him to die for what he's done."

"You can't do this!" Anora shouted. "My father was wrong, but he is still a hero to the people! Please, Alim, do not do this."

"Don't give in on this, Alim. Kill him," countered Alistair.

Spying _Vigilance_ on the ground not far away, the elven warden retrieved it and stood in front of Loghain, turning the blade over in his hands in contemplation. He looked around the hall, taking in the stares of his companions and all of the nobles and assistants in attendance. He noted Ser Cauthrien leaning up against the back wall observing, her expression belying the tension her casual posture sought to hide. He was fully cognizant that the only two eyes not focused on him were his own. Riordan was wrong, Alim _was_ the judge, and everyone was waiting with baited breath for him to announce Loghain's fate.

Alim continued to turn his dagger over in his hands at a maddeningly slow pace. He was aware that the mood in the room was growing more and more impatient with each passing moment while he contemplated what to do with Loghain. The warden knew that what they were waiting for was a simple black and white answer, but in his mind he knew that there was much more to it than simply living or dying. And if the responsibility for the decision was being placed on his shoulders, he wasn't going to make it lightly. Ending Loghain's life was the least complicated option. Anora wouldn't like it, but Alim felt she'd accept that he upheld their bargain and that it was her father that drove the situation to this conclusion. Letting him live was much more complicated. Could he be trusted to remain free, or would they need to imprison him? If he remained free, could he be counted on to help them against the Blight without betraying them again? Could the man who had been the symbol of hope for a generation even reinvent himself as second fiddle to the Grey Warden? Or would they be better off just sending him home to Gwaren to live out his days as a disgraced teyrn? Or should he be stripped not only of the regency, but of his noble title as well?

While churning through the various scenarios in his mind, the elf realized something. His own need for vengeance against the teyrn was sated. He no longer felt that insidious emotion tugging at him, encouraging him to impulsive violence. It was an interesting realization that defeating Loghain and having him yield in front of the Landsmeet and his companions was enough, that he didn't need the death of his opponent to feel satisfied. A moment later, he also realized that Alistair was still in limbo. But he wasn't sure that effectively killing Loghain on his fellow warden's behalf was the right thing to do at this point.

Alim closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Exhaling, he re-opened his eyes and without a word sheathed his dagger. Crossing his arms over his chest, his piercing glare gave Loghain no room for wavering as in a pointed tone he asked, "Are you willing to be my ally, to fight alongside us without trying to undermine us?"

"No!" growled Alistair, interrupting before Loghain could answer. "It's too late for that, Alim! He would have willingly lopped your head off if you hadn't hit him with that spell first. And you know he would've turned around and called for all of us to be executed right after that. He deserves the same!"

The elven warden rubbed his chin for a moment before stepping over in front of his fellow warden. Reaching over, he snatched the sheath on Alistair's belt with one hand and drew the dagger out with the other. Intently meeting Alistair's stern gaze, Alim firmly pressed the _Gift of the Grey_ dagger into the human's hand. "We are well within our rights to do just that," he began, directing that comment at Anora just as much as at Alistair. "But I have defeated him, he is broken. I will not require his death unless he intends to remain a threat to a unified Ferelden."

Alistair's expression was a mixture of disbelief and rage. "But-"

Alim interrupted him before he could get going again. "If _you_ require his death in order to feel justice has been served, then it shall be _you_ that carries out that sentence." Alim lifted Alistair's armed hand up between them, the symbolism of this particular dagger not lost on either man. The elf let go of Alistair's hand and stepped to the side, turning his back to the scene. The implication was clear. Alim wouldn't stop Alistair, but he wouldn't endorse him either.

Alistair frowned momentarily as he looked at the dagger, vaguely aware of catching his own reflection in the shiny silverite blade. He growled in the back of his throat at himself. The moment was at hand and his resolve was faltering. He forced the images of his fellow Grey Wardens into his mind – the joyous times of camaraderie around communal meals, the difficult times of training and battles, the stark realities of Grey Warden existence that forged a tight brotherhood. He saw each of their faces, and remembered how their lives were tossed away like worthless trash. He remembered Duncan, who was more of a father than Arl Eamon ever was, and it went without saying more than King Maric ever was. The memories flew by in seconds and rekindled the dying embers of his fury. It wasn't hard for the young warden to rationalize it all away. He wasn't doing this for himself, for his own gratification. It was for Duncan and the others. Not only for the other Grey Wardens, however. It was for all of the lives needlessly thrown away by Loghain. For Ostagar. For various battles over the last year between Loghain's forces and the bannorn as civil war raged. For the elves torn from their homes and sold into slavery. For atrocities committed in attempts to eliminate the nobles who dared stand against him. Yes, it was all for _them_, he thought, justice for the dead and condemned. A convenient lie wrapped in truth, made to look appealing on the outside while hiding the rotten core beneath the surface. A determined expression took hold on the former templar's face as his resolve steeled itself and he suddenly strode forward.

-==0==-

Alim sighed deeply, hanging his head sadly and closing his eyes. The collective gasp, the brief hiss, the choked sobs of the queen – they told the story he didn't need to see with his own eyes to know the outcome of. He'd hoped Alistair would resist the urge for revenge. Now he hoped Alistair had finally found peace, though he remained skeptical of that. The elf fell into the comfort of silent prayer while waiting for someone to indicate what came next.

After several minutes had passed, the queen composed herself enough to address the assembly. She declared Alim the new general of Ferelden's armies, a decision that met with universal approval despite him being both an elf and a mage. Anora was a trooper, her inner strength shining through as she delivered an impassioned speech even while grieving for her fallen father. At its conclusion, Alim felt a hand on his shoulder. Expecting it to be his bard, he didn't bother to mask his emotions as he turned his head and opened his eyes. He was shocked to see Ser Cauthrien instead, and quickly tried to make his expression as neutral as possible.

Cauthrien attempted a tentative smile, but the melancholy mood made it difficult. She wouldn't tell the warden, but the raw emotion she saw in his eyes went a long way towards resolving her own internal conflict over switching allegiance to the man that had defeated the person who mattered the most to her. Some might see it as silly, but it was important to her that the warden wasn't smug or overly pleased about the victory over Loghain. Even shadowed by his hood, his expressive eyes told her more than words ever could, and for that she was happy that she'd talked herself into approaching him now.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, "for at least giving him the chance."

Alim nodded. "I… am sorry things turned out the way they did. But I owed Alistair that choice."

"It… it is… okay. I believe you did more than could be asked. You did more than I could have hoped. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks."

He nodded again. "Cauthrien?"

The knight had a pretty good idea of what his questioning expression was asking. "You are my general," she replied unprompted, snapping off a sharp salute. "I will follow you anywhere you ask and fight for you with all of my being."

The elven warden smiled appreciatively. "Thank you. If you do not mind then, please come by Arl Eamon's estate tomorrow morning. You know the royal forces much better than I do, and I could really use your assistance in laying out our strategy."

Cauthrien nodded firmly, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips at the realization that the warden valued her input and didn't seek to cast her aside as part of the old guard. "Yes, ser!"

Alim chuckled softly, waving his hand. "Please, no. It's just 'Alim', okay?"

"As you wish," she replied, this time with a full smile. "By the way, you might want to go get cleaned up before these nobles flock to get in the ear of Ferelden's military leader."

"That bad, eh?"

The warden suddenly felt contact from behind and hands sweeping across his chest. Glancing down he recognized the nail polish and smirked, but made no attempt to stop the hands from unclasping and removing his cloak. He turned to face his bard, seeing her concerned expression as her eyes took inventory of his still unhealed injuries.

"That bad, eh?" he echoed.

Leliana ran her fingertips along the side of his neck, frowning at the evidence of the attack that nearly ended his life. Finishing her inspection, she sighed lightly. "You need a haircut." Seeing his bemused expression at her unexpected statement, she giggled softly and then pulled him into a tight embrace. "Thank the Maker you are safe," she whispered softly in relief into his ear.

"Thank you for believing in me," he whispered back, squeezing her back just as tightly as she was squeezing him.

Cauthrien cleared her throat, shifting somewhat uncomfortably at the private display in front of her. "General, I will take my leave now and see you tomorrow morning."

-==0==-

The elven warden slipped into the booth, taking a seat after stopping briefly to scratch his Mabari lying on the floor on top of his head. He stared across the table at his fellow warden, who didn't appear to have made much progress yet on his plan to drink himself into oblivion. Alim was glad that he caught the former templar before he was too far gone to have a coherent conversation. The human warden looked surprised to see him at first. Then his lips curled downward in a frown.

"How'd you find me?" Alistair asked grouchily.

"Oghren…" Alim replied softly. "Said you asked him to go with you, and that he replied he wasn't going to hang out in such a sodding stuffy place drinking overpriced swill."

"Who'd have thought _that_ dwarf would ever turn down an opportunity to get drunk. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'm not exactly popular right now. You come alone?"

"No, I learned my lesson back in Orzammar… Lel and Zev are at the bar, giving us some privacy."

"Here to lecture me?" Alistair asked sourly, "To condemn me for what I did?"

Alim shook his head slowly.

"Then, what?"

The elf sighed softly. "How are you doing?"

Alistair laughed sarcastically. "You came here to ask me that?"

"I heard you took off right after… killing Loghain. I got stuck afterwards having to make nice with the nobility and listen to their various concerns. Wasn't sure I was ever going to get out of there. I knew most of you guys were going to head back to the arl's place rather than waiting around on me, but I did not know you had already left until Zev told me when the rest of us got back. Anyway, I was a bit worried to be honest."

Alistair raised an eyebrow curiously. "Worried?"

"Yes… you are my brother, my best friend. I needed to make sure you were okay."

"You're really not here to gripe about me killing that bastard?"

"I… I wish you would give me more credit than that. I told you it was your choice to make, that it was you right to do so."

"But you disagreed with it."

"I was torn… truthfully, I was not confident that letting him live was the right thing to do."

Alistair huffed. "Then why were you going to?"

"I… I suppose there were a couple of reasons. One was realizing that defeating him in that duel and having him yield to me in front of everyone fulfilled my personal need for revenge. I understand that did nothing for yours though. The other reason was that personal feelings aside, it just seemed a waste to throw away Loghain's skill, experience, and ability to inspire others if he would have been willing to use them to actually help us."

"So you think we should've put him through the Joining?" Alistair asked, glaring at the elf.

"Riordan caught me off guard. At the time I could have been talked into it, but I also had no problem with you saying no. In hindsight, I agree with you. The Grey Wardens should not be open to simply anyone willing to subject themselves to the Joining."

Alistair nodded, his expression softening slightly. "Thanks… by the way, I noticed a couple of times Riordan made a cryptic remark about there being _compelling reasons_ to have as many Grey Wardens as possible. What do you make of that?"

Alim shrugged. "Truth be told, I do not trust him. I will not turn him away, but I think there is much he is not telling us and I do not like it."

"I imagine he isn't happy that we're not deferring the decision making to him as the senior Grey Warden."

"Well… if so, he needs to get over it. He has no claim to authority over me anymore."

"What do you mean?" Alistair asked, slightly confused.

Alim looked back in an equal amount of confusion at first, thinking the answer obvious. Suddenly it dawned on him. "Ohhh… you left the palace before then… I was appointed general of Ferelden's armies."

Alistair's jaw dropped open in shock, causing the elven warden to chuckle at the reaction. "I know, crazy, huh?"

Alistair whistled low. "Wow…" He shook his head again in disbelief.

The elf waved his hand dismissively. "We can talk about me later. Seriously, after what happened with Loghain… how are you feeling?"

Alistair sighed deeply. He paused for several seconds, as if contemplating it. "Empty…" he admitted. "I don't feel anything, and that's not from the ale. I… I thought killing him… seeing justice served… would give me peace about Ostagar and everything else. I convinced myself that the dead demanded justice and I was their champion to deliver it…"

When the older warden paused for a moment, Alim softly replied, "The dead make no demands. It is only the living that demands to find meaning in their deaths in order to comfort themselves."

Alistair frowned. "I… I… it doesn't even matter… it was all just a pleasant lie. When I drove that dagger through his heart… I… saw my reflection in his armor. My face… I had this self-righteous sneer… and when his eyes went dark, I was so pleased with myself. But then I pulled the blade back out, I saw… I saw your disappointed reaction… your shoulders slump, your head bow… and for the briefest of moments I wanted to… to… to k-kill _you_ for judging _me _like that. Like you were saying my own choice wasn't as valid as yours even though you didn't stop me."

"Alistair…"

The former templar held up his hand to indicate Alim should let him finish. "Th-that's why I took off right away. I didn't think I could bear anyone telling me what I did was wrong without lashing out at them. But… Zev saw me leaving and caught up with me. I tried to get him to let me go alone, but he wouldn't. Said it was his duty to keep me safe, and when I scoffed at that… he said… he said he also knew something about dealing with the emotions of… killing someone in cold blood. He didn't say anything else after that, just walked with me, but I thought about what he said, and about my earlier reactions… and I realized that my anger at you was nothing more than another convenient lie to shift responsibility."

Alim, who had been staring intently at Alistair while he spoke, gave a questioning look. Seeing this, Alistair nodded. "Yeah… I was using that anger to cover up my feelings of guilt… just like I used justice for the dead to cover up that it was personal… it was simple vengeance, nothing more."

"You are perhaps being too hard on yourself," Alim offered gently. "It is not like Loghain did not deserve it."

"But not for the reason I did it. I had an opportunity for revenge, and I took it. And the worst part is… I don't even feel the sense of peace I thought I'd have with him dead. I don't feel good for having done it, but I don't feel bad for having done it either. I mean, we _were_ legally entitled to and he would have done the same to us. I just feel… empty… it was just as meaningless as the deaths _he _caused. A bitter pill..."

"Well, we may have had to kill him anyway. He had not committed to working with us, and even if he did there would always have been the possibility of another betrayal down the road. I guess… it is not a bad thing to see the truth for what it is, but… do not beat yourself up too badly over Loghain."

Alistair sighed. "So… you are really not upset at me? What about the others?"

The elf closed his eyes briefly. "Disappointed I suppose, at least I was earlier when it happened. Now? It is done… I do not care other than wanting you to be okay, and… truthfully… hoping you and Anora will be able to get along. With her back on the throne and me as general of her armies, she will be more involved with what we are doing going forward. I cannot speak for the others, other than to say I did not hear anything that makes me think anyone thinks less of you for it."

"Well, I think I bottomed out with Morrigan about thirty seconds after we met her, so I'm not sure she's capable of thinking less of me." The two men chuckled lightly together.

"Thanks, Alim," Alistair said, running his fingers through his hair, the tension slowly draining from his expression. "I'll be okay. And I'll try not to do anything else to antagonize the queen."

Alim nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Come on, let's get out of here. It is getting late, and I am not sure how early Cauthrien will be coming by tomorrow."

"Ser Cauthrien? What for?"

"Well, there is still that matter of the date with you I promised her," Alim answered nonchalantly.

Alistair scrutinized the elf's expression, and not seeing any signs of kidding around her started to get nervous. "Wait, you were joking about that before, right?"

Alim responded by winking at his fellow warden and sliding out of the booth, motioning for Alistair to join him as he stood up. "Come on."

"You _are_ joking, right? I mean… yeah, this has got to be a joke. It is a joke, right?"

Waving to the others, Alim moved towards the door with Scorch in tow.

"Alim?" asked Alistair again, falling in behind him. "You aren't being serious, are you?"

Grinning mischievously, the elf shrugged. "You said it yourself, you could do worse." He thought about letting him off the hook, but decided it was more fun under the circumstances to string him along awhile longer.

"Now I _know_ you're joking." A few seconds later he added, "Come on, man, you're joking, right?"

The group was only halfway home before a highly irritated bard smacked the elven warden on the shoulder, demanding he put an end to the incessant pestering of a panicking former templar by telling him the truth. As the assassin laughed heartily at the whole exchange, and the older warden put the protesting younger one in a headlock and gave him a noogie for stressing him out about it, the bard shook her head. _"Little boys…"_ she thought to herself. A little while later though she smiled to herself, realizing she hoped that they'd never truly lose that playful innocence.


	17. Chapter 17

"Your Majesty?" asked Alim in surprise as he entered Arl Eamon's private study with Alistair in tow. "I was not expecting you here with Cauthrien this morning." He nodded in the direction of the knight. The elf had thought the pair of royal guards stationed outside the room was odd when he was approaching, but now he understood why they were there. He also noted that the arl was not present.

The queen smiled while waving her hand. "Please, Alim, it's still just 'Anora'. Cauthrien told me she was coming over here, and I thought you could use my help as well in learning your new position. Certainly the Blight is your top priority and I will not pull you away from that, but as my general your responsibilities go well beyond that. And as such, there are things you can be observing and thinking about during your travels."

Alim nodded. "Of course, I would appreciate your guidance. Where should we begin?"

"Where is Leliana? I believe the first order of business involves her too."

The elven warden raised an eyebrow curiously. "She was planning on running some errands, but I do not think she has left yet. I will go get her."

Alistair felt his heart rate increasing. The prospect of having to be alone with Anora and Cauthrien for even a few minutes was inducing stress. "Ummm… I can go get her, I mean… if you want me to."

Alim saw his fellow warden's expression and recognized the situation, but felt like it was important for the two of them to deal with it sooner rather than later. Shaking his head, he moved to the door and left to retrieve his bard.

-==0==-

Out of the corner of his eye, Alistair could see Cauthrien watching him and Anora fidgeting with her hands while looking towards the floor. He turned his head and for the first time noticed Erlina standing impassively but observantly in one of the back corners of the room. Her quiet presence blended into the room, as if she was just part of the décor, a detail one's eyes naturally glossed over without really seeing unless it was pointed out. _"Was she always there and I just now noticed her?"_ he asked himself. Alistair knew by Alim's expression that he'd left him here on purpose, hoping that he would talk to the queen and resolve any lingering tension. Sighing lightly, he closed his eyes briefly before opening them and clearing his throat.

"A-anora, I m-mean, your Majesty…"

"Anora is fine," she interrupted in a somewhat curt tone. She wasn't happy with Cailan's step-brother, but she was going to try to put her personal feelings aside for the good of the country.

Alistair appeared surprised at her response, but quickly nodded before continuing, "I am… sorry for… for… for… the way things turned out yesterday."

"Oh? You mean to say you are sorry you killed my father?" she asked pointedly. "You might as well call it what it was."

"No. Yes. No. I m-mean…" He took a deep breath, and then began to explain to her much of what he told Alim previously. He was honest, he wasn't upset that Loghain was dead, but he also wasn't content knowing that his motivation behind killing him wasn't as pure as he'd led himself to believe. Alim and Leliana quietly entered the room while Alistair was wrapping up his explanation.

Anora frowned sadly. "I was confident of winning the Landsmeet once Alim gave me your support, even more so after hearing from Leliana of the additional support garnered from the Bannorn. Knowing my father, I knew he would not surrender without playing all of his cards, so I… I had already made peace with the notion that his death was the likely outcome. Though I prayed it wouldn't be so. I can't forget that he was killed without being allowed to declare himself ally or enemy at the end, but… I can forgive it." She wouldn't ever admit it, but not knowing what her father's decision would have been gave her some measure of peace, because it allowed her to think the best of him and convince herself that he would've regained his former honor. It allowed her to remember him as the heroic defender of Ferelden rather than the paranoid tyrant.

"Thank you," Alistair replied softly.

After an uncomfortable silence settled in, Leliana decided a change of subject was in order. "You wished to see me?" The queen nodded, smiling gratefully.

-==0==-

Anora gestured to the table. When the others gathered around, they noticed that the large sheet of vellum unrolled on it was a map of Denerim. What drew all eyes, however, was an area outlined heavily in red ink.

"Before seizing the title of Arl of Denerim and its land, this was Rendon Howe's estate in Denerim," the queen stated, tapping the outlined area with a fingernail. It was near the western wall of the city, roughly a mile northwest of the royal palace.

Alim looked up at the queen quizzically. "Are we having problems with what's left of his personal guard?"

The queen smiled, shaking her head. Tapping the Arl of Redcliffe estate on the map, she explained, "It has been brought to my attention that you are staying here because you don't have a home of your own, in Denerim or anywhere else for that matter." As Alim nodded in response, she continued, "That simply will not do for my general and his wife-to-be." She tapped again on the estate outlined in red on the map. "Howe's former estate is yours now."

Alim and Leliana both gasped in shock, causing Anora to laugh. "It will take a few days for the formalities of transferring it to your name and assigning the guard detail. I will leave hiring a housekeeping staff to your discretion, however."

The stunned mage and bard exchanged glances of disbelief, still shaking their heads in awe at the revelation. "I… I… th-thank you," Alim finally choked out. Leliana nodded emphatically in agreement. "Thank you so much."

"One other thing…" Anora snapped her fingers, prompting Erlina to stride forward. The elven handmaiden produced a small gold box, which she handed to the queen. Anora, in turn, handed it to Leliana. "If you already have this taken care of or do not want to use these, simply return them. I will not be offended."

The bard gently flipped the lid open and then gasped again, covering her mouth with her hand. "Maker's breath!" she whispered hoarsely into her hand, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "These are gorgeous!" She turned the box so Alim could see. He blinked his eyes in further disbelief at the sight of a matched set of wedding rings. Both rings were platinum and gold bands, intricately inlaid with diamond and ruby forming a crisscross pattern that was contoured to be flush with the rounded surface. Elegant yet simple, and practical enough for daily wear even while adventuring.

"W-we h-hadn't picked out rings yet," Alim admitted. "Thank you, this is all incredibly generous of you."

Anora smiled warmly, nodding at the couple. "I just wanted to show that I appreciate what you and your friends have done on my behalf, Alim. Should it still be in my power once the Blight is over, I will grant a boon to the others as well." With a slight smirk she added, "Even you, Alistair."

"Is there a story behind these rings?" asked Leliana, both out of natural curiosity and to draw the attention away from Alistair, who appeared rather embarrassed.

"These were one of the many ring sets presented for Cailan and me to choose from for our own wedding. These were my favorite actually, but they got rejected because Cailan favored a more grandiose, outright gaudy design."

"Never leave picking out jewelry to a man," Leliana replied, grinning slyly.

"If only it was that simple," Anora said, sighing gently. "Even deciding on wedding rings was surprisingly political. Not just that Cailan's opinion carried more weight than my own, but because we had to consider things such as how selecting one designer over another could affect family and political relationships. The rings and trying to figure out the table arrangements for the reception were among the two biggest eye openers to the realities of royal life for me back then."

"I would not see arranging tables as being problematic?" said Alim in confusion.

Leliana giggled. "That is because you are clueless, my dear. At any formal dinner one must consider the positions of the guests and seat accordingly. But not only their positions, how one guest feels about another is important too. It may make sense to sit two banns at the same table, but if they personally hate each other you are practically asking for political fallout. And Maker forbid if you place one rival at a more prominent table than another. It gets ugly."

Alim shook his head at how much effort was required over something so stupid. "Hey, Alistair, sorry yet that you are missing out on these joys of being royalty?" he asked sarcastically.

"I think I would've had to force some unlucky soul to become my wife and let her deal with this stuff instead," the older warden replied with a slight grin. "But no, I'm quite alright where I am, thank you."

"Well, if you want a wife you might start by actually, you know, meeting a woman and asking her out?" Alim teased, winking at his friend.

Alistair, who was standing next to Cauthrien, stiffened in response to the elf's remarks as he immediately thought of the teasing he'd received concerning the knight the previous evening. "L-let's just worry about the Blight first…" he suggested, trailing off weakly.

"Speaking of which," interrupted Anora, "perhaps we should move on to discussing our armies."

Alim glanced curiously at Leliana, who after disassembling the small bow that was inside the gold box had taken his left hand and was wrapping the narrow strip of ribbon around his finger. She held it there briefly before removing it. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Smirking, she replied, "King Cailan obviously had much bigger hands than you, so unless you intend to wear your ring on your thumb, it will need to be resized. I am already going to the markets to have a boot sheath made for Alistair's dagger and to have your cloak and armor repaired. I can have this done while I'm out, even if we don't need them right away."

"You mind if I tag along?" Alistair asked. At her curious expression he gestured to the others and added, "I don't think the stuff they're discussing involves me. I'm sure he'll want someone to accompany you anyway, and I don't have anything else to do today."

Leliana suspected there was more to it than that, but she simply nodded in response. With that, she thanked the queen once more and gave her sheepish warden a kiss, and then left them to their business.

-==0==-

Alim rubbed his temples wearily, nursing a headache. It had been three hours since Anora and Cauthrien began getting him up to speed on Ferelden's armies and his duties as the leader of them, and his head was practically spinning from information overload. Anora and Cauthrien exchanged knowing looks, and the latter grinned slightly at his reaction. "Overwhelmed yet?" she asked.

"And then some… I never thought there would be so much to this. I know I will get a handle on it all soon enough, but wow…" he trailed off, slowly shaking his head.

"Remember though," Anora began in response, "your priority is the Blight. I don't want you to lose sight of that amidst all of these new responsibilities."

"And beyond that, you will learn what to delegate and what requires your personal attention," Cauthrien added.

Alim nodded. "Speaking of delegation… are you okay filling in for me while I am away from Denerim?"

Cauthrien returned a firm nod. "I will carry out your orders to my utmost ability."

Shaking his head, he replied, "That is not what I am asking, nor what I want."

"I-I don't understand."

"I don't know exactly what Loghain expected of you or even what your formal rank is, but I will tell you what I expect. You are my second-in-command, and if a promotion is in order to reflect that, then consider it done. At least, I assume I have the authority to grant that." When Anora nodded solemnly in confirmation, he continued, "I expect more from you than simply following orders. We will be in regular contact, but I trust you to evaluate situations and make whatever decisions are necessary in my absence, and to carry them out."

"Why?" she asked. She was still having a hard time coming to grips with it.

Alim was confused by the question. "Why what?"

"Why are you giving me all of this… a promotion, this responsibility? I mean, I know things have changed, but barely a day ago we were enemies thinking of killing each other."

The elven warden laughed lightly. "You would hardly be the first enemy of mine to become a trusted friend." He told her the story of Zevran being hired through the Antivan Crows by Loghain to assassinate the wardens, and how he came to be one of Alim's most trusted friends. Cauthrien and Anora both shook their heads in amazement at the outcome of the story. Chuckling at their reactions, Alim continued his explanation.

"My friends would tell you I am distrustful of others, and to be honest that is generally true. I tend to be skeptical of people's motives. I suppose that got ingrained in me growing up. But my friends would also tell you that while I am slow to trust, once I do decide someone is trustworthy, I do so without reservation." With a grin he added, "I have been called naïve for being that way enough times that there is probably some merit to that charge."

"You seem to have decided rather quickly to trust me though."

Alim shrugged. "Some people are easier for me to figure out than others. One of the reasons I decided to try to talk to you rather than fight yesterday was because I had a strong suspicion that nearly everything you thought you knew about me was wrong. I saw how your body language and tone changed as we talked, and I took what you said to me after the duel at face value. Cauthrien, it should be obvious after all we have gone over today that I value your perspective. But I do understand why you would doubt me."

Cauthrien's eyes opened wide at Alim's last statement, and she quickly protested. "I-I do not mean to doubt-"

The warden held up his hand. "It is okay, really. I give you my word that I am being sincere, but to have an informed opinion you should ask others about me. Talk to my companions, ask them whatever you want. You will no doubt hear both the good and the bad."

"You expect your companions to say bad things about you?"

"If they are being honest," he admitted. "I mean, I do not expect they would say anything hateful, but I am not perfect. Sometimes I make mistakes. Sometimes I act impulsively and get myself into trouble. I am quick to learn, but there is much I do not know. I lead, but I rely on others to help me do so. My friends do not follow me out of a sense of duty, but rather because they believe in me and what we are doing. I would ask the same of you and anyone else."

Cauthrien's expression softened and a smile formed. She could already tell that working for Alim was going to be a much different experience than working for Loghain. The teyrn had been a man of strong conviction in his own abilities and was fiercely decisive. He was confident to a fault, the only person he ever believed to be his equal was Maric. As a result, Loghain had little interest in the counsel of others, and even less interest in listening to opposing viewpoints. He didn't want free thinkers, he wanted capable people he could trust to carry out his will. Cauthrien had thought she was at the pinnacle of her career under Loghain, but in a few short hours Alim had shattered that belief.

Cauthrien had a guarded personality by nature, at least _guarded_ was the polite way the knight would describe herself. Though widely respected professionally, she knew many would describe her in harsher terms – cold, calculating, unfeeling, ice queen, bitch. Loghain himself once lamented that she hardly ever smiled. Yet, the affable elven Grey Warden had managed not only to coax several smiles out of her already, but had even made her chuckle at one point in discussing Fort Drakon when he joked about hopefully receiving a much nicer reception the next time he went there. She felt strangely at ease around him.

Realizing that she'd become lost in thought and that the general was still looking at her and waiting for a response, she blushed slightly – another first for her in a professional situation. "My apologies, I… I was just… thinking. Anyway, I think I understand. This is very different than what I am used to, but I will adapt."

Anora cleared her throat lightly, getting the attention of the other two. "I have one specific task for you, Cauthrien. I am not naïve to the reality that the ranks are filled with soldiers who were fiercely loyal to my father and will not look favorably upon his replacement, whether it is because of the circumstances or because he is an elf. You are respected, trusted, and known to be as loyal to my father as anyone. I need you to use your influence to quell any unrest that might arise."

Cauthrien nodded. "I understand, your Majesty. I will make sure the rank and file are fully committed to General Alim."

Alim shook his head, chuckling softly. "I am not sure I will ever get used to being called that."

-==0==-

"Where to now?" Alistair asked as he strolled away from a vendor stall with Leliana and Scorch in the market district. They'd made a number of stops, and while he wasn't complaining, he was ready to go back to Wade's to see if his new dagger sheath and Alim's armor were ready and then return to Arl Eamon's estate.

Leliana giggled at the slight trepidation in his question that he didn't realize he revealed. "Now, now, my dear Alistair, you should have known that going shopping with me is an all day affair, no?"

"All… day?"

Laughing, she nodded. "But next is a bit of fun. We are going over to the alienage."

"I'm not sure that _fun_ and _alienage _belong in the same sentence, unless you are naming opposites."

"True, unfortunately… but hopefully this will be different."

"What do you need to do there?" he asked.

"The queen said that hiring a staff for Alim's estate was at our discretion, and I admit I'm far too excited not to get started on that."

Alistair glanced at her curiously for a moment before realization set in. "Neria…"

The bard grinned. "Yes. She could have a live-in position on the staff, which would get her out of the alienage and allow her and Alim to see each other much more often. I don't expect she will turn down the opportunity."

"What about Alim? Will he be upset you did that without asking him first?"

"I'm sure he'd have the same idea when he isn't so preoccupied with other things."

"To put his own sister to work for him?" Alistair asked. "That doesn't sound like Alim to me."

Leliana frowned slightly. "True enough, I suppose. But Neria didn't strike me as the type that would be content with sitting around doing nothing but living off of us."

"Unlike Goldanna…" the warden muttered in a slightly bitter tone.

Sighing, the bard nodded sympathetically. "A job with living quarters in a noble estate would be a much better life than Neria has now. It is not so unreasonable to expect even a sibling to carry some responsibility, and she doesn't have the skills to travel with-"

Leliana's words were cut off by a sudden loud bark and Scorch leaping. The warden and the bard spun around, and were shocked at the sight of the Mabari mauling someone. As the man struggled underneath the weight and ferocity of the hound, a dagger coated in a shiny blue substance came into view. Reacting on instinct, Leliana kicked the dagger from the man's hand while simultaneously drawing her own daggers.

"Scorch!" she exclaimed after quickly surveying the scene and not seeing additional threats. "Stop! We need answers!" The hound obediently leapt off of his victim, crouching low and snarling and ready to pounce again if necessary. He barked rapidly, indicating the man was attempting to plant that dagger in Alistair's back.

"Who are you?" Leliana growled. "And who sent you?"

The would-be assassin choked painfully, shaking his head to indicate he wasn't going to talk. Leliana's glare only turned darker at that response. "I will ask once more, and then I will allow the dog to finish the job."

The assassin knew he was already mortally wounded anyway. He spat blood at the red haired girl in defiance. She didn't even flinch. "Do it," she said simply and Scorch tore into him. In his dying screams, they were able to make out the word _Loghain_.

"I wonder what that was about?" asked Alistair. "Revenge for what I did yesterday?"

Kneeling down to scratch the Mabari behind the ears, Leliana whispered appreciatively, "Thank you for watching our backs." She retrieved a couple of treats from her pack and passed them to him.

Alistair sighed deeply. "I take back every nasty thing I ever said about you, hound. I owe you my life."

"Let's go," Leliana replied after checking the body and finding nothing noteworthy. "And let's be more alert while we're at it…"

-==0==-

Arl Eamon strode into his study wearing a grim expression. Riordan followed him in. "I apologize for interrupting," Eamon began, gesturing to Anora, Alim, and Cauthrien, "but I have grave news. Scouts have reported sighting a large horde of darkspawn in the south moving in the direction of Redcliffe."

Alim jumped up from his chair. "How long do we have?"

"The reports are a few days old, but estimates were no more than a week. So maybe four days. Most of my army is already there and ready to march, but we will not win without reinforcements. I intend to leave for Redcliffe with the rest of my army this afternoon."

"What of the archdemon? Any sighting of it?"

Eamon shook his head. "No indications of there being a dragon with the horde."

Alim frowned. _"What are you up to?" _he asked silently to himself, trying to figure out what the archdemon was doing.

"Warden?" the arl asked when he did not reply right away.

"Were there estimates on the size of the darkspawn horde, other than a vague description of it being large? Any numbers?"

"I'm afraid not. What are you thinking?"

Alim glanced back up. "That this does not feel right. A large horde without the archdemon?" He shook his head. "I wish we had better information on this."

"Nonetheless," Riordan interjected, "if there are that many darkspawn we must go out to meet them."

Alim nodded. "Riordan, can you scout ahead? See what you can find out and then meet us at Redcliffe Castle?" When the older Grey Warden agreed to leave right away, Alim turned his attention to Cauthrien. "What is the readiness of our troops? What I mean to ask is, how many could be ready to leave for Redcliffe within 24 hours?"

"They are not on alert, so 24 hours is a tight deadline. We could have maybe 200-300 ready." She paused in thought for a moment, then added, "An idea would be to send what we could tomorrow, and then send a larger second force the following day."

"A sound plan," Alim agreed. "I want 200 soldiers ready to leave for Redcliffe in the next 24 hours, and another 400 to leave within 48 hours. My group will leave at daybreak and travel as normal, so we will arrive in Redcliffe ahead of the first detachment."

"We could spare 1000 without a significant impact on operations in this region if you wanted to send more," Cauthrien suggested.

The elven warden fell into thought briefly before nodding slowly. "With what information we have, I do not want to stretch our forces too thin here. So let's split the difference and make it 750. Send a group of 250 and then 500 after that. It should be obvious, but make sure whoever commands them knows to take the southern route along the West Road instead of using the North Road. Also increase the patrols along the southern boundary of the Bannorn. If there is any sighting at all of the archdemon I want word sent immediately."

"It will be done, ser. I will attend to it right away. A question though… few will know what an archdemon looks like, so is there a particular description I can give of what they are looking for? Since you've seen it already?"

Alim considered her question for a moment. "One minute, I will be right back." After going to his room and finding what he was looking for, the warden returned to the study and held out a rolled up sheet of vellum in his hand. Cauthrien took it from him, and her eyes opened in astonishment when she unrolled the page and saw a highly detailed drawing of a dragon. She held it up for the others to see as well.

"This is the archdemon they are looking for," Alim explained. "Take it with you, show it around."

Nodding, Cauthrien replied, "This will help a lot. Such an amazing drawing, it'll be perfectly clear what we're looking for."

"Thank you," Alim said, "I drew that while we were camped out far into the Deep Roads. I started working on it the same day we first saw the archdemon."

"You are a man of many talents it would seem. You could make a living selling artwork of this quality."

Alim shrugged. "When you are cooped up inside a tower your whole life and never allowed to go outside, you learn all manner of ways to pass the time."

Cauthrien found herself wanting to know more about the general's background, but understood that time was of the essence at the moment. "I will make haste to get this in front of as many eyes as possible, and to have the troops ready as ordered."

"Thank you, Cauthrien, I appreciate it. I think it is also time to call in our allies. I will talk to our representatives from the Circle of Magi, Orzammar, and the Dalish. The dwarves and mages can assemble in Redcliffe on short notice. The Dalish are deep in the Brecilian Forest and cannot get to Redcliffe in time, but I will ask that their warriors assisting us relocate near what is left of Lothering and await further instruction." The knight gave a formal bow to the queen and nodded respectfully to the arl and the general before striding purposefully from the room.

"If the Blight has finally arrived," Eamon said, "Maker help us all."

-==0==-

The elven warden paced the estate with a slight agitation in his gait. It was only the middle of the afternoon and barely an hour since he'd made the decision to leave for Redcliffe in the morning, but he was impatient for Alistair and Leliana to get back. He'd already told his other companions of the situation, and preparing to leave wouldn't take long. The warden, however, wouldn't be satisfied until he knew for sure his armor made it back with Leliana. And he wanted to talk to Alistair as well to get his thoughts on the archdemon not being with the horde of darkspawn heading for Redcliffe. His gut feeling was that while a large horde was cause for significant concern, this was only a precursor to the real deal.

Morrigan frowned at the elf muttering to himself. He was passing by for the third time in the last fifteen minutes, seemingly distracted without purpose. "Warden!" she called out, getting his attention. When he stopped his pacing and glanced over, she sarcastically remarked, "All of this walking won't get you a headstart on tomorrow."

Alim sighed. "Sorry, just restless." Suddenly he had a thought. "Hey, is now a good time for you to teach me the basics of shapeshifting? It would be a welcome distraction for my part."

"Are you sure your concentration is up to it?" she asked pointedly. "'Tis not an easy process, 'tis unlike any magic you've done before."

"Yes, I can set aside everything else to focus on the lesson."

"Very well," she relented. "We need a quiet place for this, so let's go to my room."

"For your first form," Morrigan explained as they walked to her room, "it should be something that is not terribly different in size and basic anatomy. You can add more exotic forms as your skill progresses."

"What would you suggest?"

Sizing up the elf, she answered, "Perhaps a wolf would be an appropriate starting point."

Alim rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "How about a Mabari?"

Morrigan contemplated this for a moment before nodding slowly. "You probably feel more of an affinity to them than to wolves, and 'tis a similar enough body type. That should be adequate."

As they continued walking, Alim had another thought. "You cannot do a dragon like Flemeth did, can you?"

The witch shook her head. "I cannot. Why?"

Alim grinned mischievously. "Oh, I was just thinking how awesome it would be if you could be a dragon and I could fly into battle riding on your back. We would terrorize any enemies that way."

"Oh? You would seek to _mount_ me would you?"

The grin the elf had been wearing was replaced by embarrassment at the implication. "S-s-sorry... that is not what I meant..."

Morrigan cackled gleefully at the warden's reaction. "'No matter. Perhaps one day I will unlock that secret of Flemeth's, but 'tis not now."

-==0==-

A few hours later a sharp knock at the door interrupted the explanation that Morrigan was currently giving. She shook her head in aggravation at the interruption, but answered the door anyway. The grim expression she saw on the bard's face upon opening the door, however, stifled the biting remark that she was already prepared to deliver. Instead, she merely looked at the girl in curiosity.

"I was told that Alim was with you," Leliana stated matter-of-factly.

Sighing, Morrigan nodded and moved to the side to let the bard into the room. Leliana glanced around on her way into the room and was puzzled at the sight of a Mabari she'd never seen before and that her warden was nowhere to be found.

"He is not still here?"

Morrigan smirked, shrugging noncommittally. "What do you think of my hound?" She'd assumed that the girl knew about the warden learning shapeshifting, but it was becoming apparent that wasn't the case.

Leliana knelt down and scratched the dog behind the ears distractedly. "Did this one come from the royal kennels? I didn't know you were even interested in getting one of your own. But what of Alim? I really need to talk to him."

"Soon enough," the witch replied, waving her hand. Nodding at the Mabari, she added, "He has rather remarkable eyes, don't you think?" She was quite amused with herself at leading the bard along like this.

Leliana sighed at Morrigan's insistence that she pay attention to the dog when she was so anxious to see Alim, but resigned herself to having to humor the witch. She reluctantly turned her attention to the Mabari. When she did she was immediately taken aback by the intensely deep emerald eyes that she just noticed for the first time. It took barely a second for realization to set in. After all, she'd stared into those eyes many, many times. A gasp escaped her lips. "It… it c-cannot be…"

Alim shifted back to his normal form and gasped himself, except in pain rather than astonishment. "Ugh…" he moaned, "I h-hope you are right, Morrigan, and that my body gets used to the unnatural stretching and twisting. This… hurts… badly…" he admitted, lying back on the floor gingerly.

Morrigan nodded. "'Tis to be expected at first, as I told you. The pain will pass in a minute or two. Just wait until the first time you shift out of something with a completely different anatomy, such as a spider. But, as long as you practice your body will get used to it."

"Th-thank you again," Alim replied, closing his eyes and waiting for the pain to pass.

Leliana grinned once she understood her warden would be fine, and couldn't resist teasing him. "You _must_ learn how to turn into something cute and cuddly, maybe a nice fuzzy kitten? Ooh, then you can lay across my feet and keep them warm on cold nights."

The elf groaned, partly from the lingering pain and partly at the bard's suggestion. Looking to quickly change the subject away from such notions, he asked, "Wh-what was it you said you needed to talk to me about?"

Leliana sighed, her serious expression returning as she remembered why she was looking for him in the first place. "Alistair and I were attacked a couple of times while we were out."

"What?" Alim exclaimed in an alarm.

The bard gestured for him to relax. "It's okay. Neither of us were hurt, nor was Scorch. We think both times it was people going after Alistair for killing Loghain yesterday. The second attempt definitely was, it was a group of three soldiers who declared Alistair was going to die for what he did. The first attempt was a lone attacker that wouldn't talk."

"This is bad…"

Nodding, Leliana suggested, "As much as I would rather work on setting up our new home, perhaps it is best if we leave Denerim for a short time until things cool down."

Alim chuckled sarcastically. "Well, it just so happens that we are leaving for Redcliffe tomorrow at daybreak." Answering her inquisitive stare, he explained the situation with the darkspawn. Afterwards the pair left Morrigan's room to go find Alistair. Alim wanted to fill his fellow warden in on what was going on, and he also intended to get a note to Cauthrien with instructions to add not going after the Grey Wardens in retaliation for Loghain's death to her list of things to talk to the troops about.

-==0==-

Traveling light, the group made good time and reached Redcliffe mid-morning on the third day. Entering the outskirts of Redcliffe Village, they were nearly accosted by a panicked villager running towards them.

"Andraste's mercy!" he exclaimed. "I thought for sure the monsters were going to get me!"

"Darkspawn?" Alim asked. "They are already in the village?"

"Th-they are everywhere down there…" the man replied, gesturing down the hill towards the main part of the village.

"What of the people? Where are they holed up?"

The man sighed, calming down somewhat. "In the castle, I think… where I should've stayed too. The arl ordered everyone evacuated from the village early this morning. I thought I could make it to my home and back before the darkspawn got here. But I took too long… what a relief that you guys got here when you did."

Alim nodded. "Probably a crazy question, but did you see the archdemon? It would look like a giant dragon."

"Dr-dr-dragon? I-I d-didn't see anything l-like that, b-but I was mostly running for m-my life."

"Go on, get back to the castle," Alistair half suggested half commanded. "We'll take it from here." The man nodded and ran off.

-==0==-

The heart of Redcliffe Village sat in a valley surrounded by hills. They were large hills to be sure, but not really large enough to be called mountains even though one only had to go a short distance further west to reach the base of the Frostbacks. A series of relatively narrow winding paths carved into the red rock formed the roads in and out of the village. Every turn of a path created a natural chokepoint for defense. As it turned out, however, Arl Eamon's army had made no attempt to hold the village against the darkspawn assault, choosing to setup their defenses at the castle atop one of the hills overlooking the village.

Alim wondered morbidly if the village's small militia was left to fend for itself in defense of the village, or if they were pulled into the arl's larger army at the castle. As the party turned a sharp corner on the path that led to the windmill, the elf caught sight of a pair of human bodies hanging from the rafters of the second floor of the storage building next to the windmill. _"Surely the darkspawn would not have done that?"_ He had a brief flashback to what they'd seen entering Honnleath earlier in their adventures. Before he could think about it further though, the more pressing concern caught his attention. A pack of blight wolves and hurlocks noticed the group and began charging their position.

A quartet of arrows from the two rogues and a pair of arcane bolts flew past the elven warden from behind at nearly the same time he turned loose his own arcane bolt using _Spellweaver_ as his focus. Scorch raced by him, followed by Sten, Oghren, and Alistair. The much larger and slower moving Shale found herself stuck behind the mages and archers, unable to navigate the narrow path to get at the enemy. She briefly considered simply sweeping them all out of the way with her arm, but instead yelled at them to get out of the way. The remaining group quickly parted for the stone golem, enabling her to enter the fray.

Shale and Alim formed a line of defense to protect the ones behind them, allowing Zev, Lel, Morrigan, and Wynne to work without interruption. Alim blasted a trio of blight wolves with a _cone of cold_, which Shale promptly shattered with her heavy fists. The elf raised his sword to parry an incoming blow from a hurlock, only to see the darkspawn drop at the last moment from an arrow that plunged through an eye socket and into its brain. The melee fighters cleaned up the remnants of this first group and returned to the others.

The party stopped on the wide ledge in front of the windmill to regroup. Seeing Alim staring at the bodies hanging from the windmill and having a good idea of what his friend was thinking about, Alistair shook his head. "Judging from their appearance, I'd guess militia members who didn't want to uphold their obligations when faced with the prospect of fighting darkspawn."

Alim contemplated this for a moment before nodding. "Let's go, we do not want to keep the darkspawn waiting."

-==0==-

Spying a group of ten hurlocks and genlocks standing below on the narrow stone bridge leading into the village, Alim motioned for the others and whispered his plan. He cut loose a fireball that blasted eight of the darkspawn over the sides and into a long fall to their deaths. The two remaining hurlocks managed not to get knocked overboard, but they were at the mercy of the volley of arrows launched from the longbows and crossbows of the rogues and warriors coupled with the arcane bolts fired by the mages. Their charge didn't even make it off the bridge before they were cut down.

The group continued their methodical pace down the hill, engaging and quickly dispatching the small isolated groups of darkspawn. On the one hand, Alim was grateful that the darkspawn were too stupid to organize into a much larger force that had to be dealt with all at once, but on the other hand he was a bit disconcerted at what amounted to a smattering of darkspawn when the reports had been of a large horde. Was the bulk of the horde in the main part of the village? Had they already moved to assault Redcliffe Castle? Were they somewhere else, or hadn't arrived yet?

-==0==-

By the time the group reached the center of the village, the resistance did indeed pick up. It still wasn't a _horde_, but there were roughly twenty hurlocks and genlocks backed by a pair of ogres.

"Ogres!" Alim hissed. He wouldn't characterize himself as being traumatized from his first encounter with one of these massive darkspawn at Ostagar, but the appearance of one still gave him significant pause nonetheless. "Wynne! Drop an _earthquake_ in the center to hold most of them back. Morrigan! Lay down a _blizzard_ in the same spot. Zev! Lel! I see at least two emissaries, there may be more. Get rid of them quickly! Go!"

After casting _combat magic,_ the elf led the charge, throwing out his hands and snap freezing an approaching quartet of genlock assassins along with a hurlock alpha. He continued on past them, leaving the frozen darkspawn to be cleaned up by shattering blows from Shale and _stone fist_ spells from Wynne. Scorch leapt onto a genlock, overwhelming and tearing at it. Sten raced after the little warden, impressed with his aggressiveness but expecting him to need additional support. Alistair stayed back to help Shale protect the others, while Oghren flew into a berserker rage and threw himself into the heart of the battle.

Alim's eyes narrowed in focus as he sped past a number of darkspawn towards his goal. The shivering elf was trying to get on the other side of Morrigan's blizzard before he froze to death, even though he knew what was waiting. He managed to escape the spell's area of effect, but before he could completely regain control over his involuntary shivering, a swipe from an ogre's claw caught him in the left shoulder and sent him flying from his feet. He landed in a sprawling, rolling heap ten feet away from where he had been standing. The ogre stalked towards him, only to be intercepted by an angry Qunari. Sten swung _Asala_ mightily, slicing deep into the thigh of the ogre and causing it to roar in pain. Alim scrambled to his feet a dusty mess, and as he was collecting his bearings he realized that Sten was becoming surrounded by a half dozen darkspawn in addition to the ogre. The Qunari warrior was spinning and swinging his sword in wide arcs to keep his foes at bay, but Alim knew he needed help.

The arcane warrior cast a _force field_ on Sten, trapping the Qunari in place but preventing him from being hurt at the same time. Pausing only long enough to suck down a lyrium potion, he then cast a _crushing prison_ that detonated the force field and created a massive shockwave that obliterated all but the ogre. The mage had developed enough control over that spell combination that he was able to keep Sten unharmed in the center of the shockwave.

Alim swiftly reengaged the ogre with his companion, and the two took down the wounded beast. As Sten turned his attention to other enemies, Alim had a thought. He cast a _spell wisp _to give his spell power a boost, then focused all of his willpower into an _animate dead_ spell. Much to the warden's glee, the fallen ogre reanimated as a thrall under his control. "Yes!" he exclaimed, not being able to help his excitement despite being in the middle of battle. The undead ogre went to work right away, attacking the hurlock and genlock that were closing in on its new master.

Maintaining the sustained spells he'd cast left Alim with next to no mana even after draining another lyrium potion, so he settled mostly into warrior mode outside of throwing arcane bolts. He drew _Vigilance _and held it in his left hand in a reverse ice pick style grip, using it almost exclusively for defense while attacking with _Spellweaver_ in his right hand. Before long, the combined efforts of his companions along with his undead minion helped him take down the remaining darkspawn in the village.

-==0==-

The group took a break to heal and catch their breath before proceeding up the hill to Redcliffe Castle, and while they were doing so it was impossible for the others to miss the elven warden's excitement with his new toy. He'd let go of his _combat magic_ and _spell wisp _spells, but was still sustaining the _animate dead _spell, and was practically bouncing up and down while checking out the undead ogre.

"Looks like someone's got their own little happy dance going," Oghren suggested sarcastically, drawing laughter.

"S-sorry," Alim replied, blushing. "I have never been able to animate something this large before. I guess I got a little excited about it. I'm taking him with us up the hill. He will be useful in the fighting ahead."

Zev chuckled. "So this one is a 'he' and not an 'it', eh? Is this Meat Shield the second?"

Smirking back at his friend, Alim shook his head. "I think I will name the big guy 'Target'." Turning to the former darkspawn ogre, he added, "Which, by the way, is your job, to be the target." The undead ogre gave no response, but none was necessary. Its existence was nothing but the will of the mage that controlled it.

The others laughed at the elven mage's silliness, and having recovered from the fighting they started on their way to the castle.

-==0==-

The group arrived at Redcliffe Castle to find the arl's army engaged with a large number of darkspawn in the courtyard. They rushed to their aid, coming in from behind the darkspawn and pinching them between themselves and the arl's army. The fighting was fast and furious, but the darkspawn fell to the superior tactics and formations. While the last of the darkspawn were falling, Alim turned and saw a number of Eamon's men were attacking Target, his undead ogre.

"Hey!" Alim screamed while running towards the group. "Stop attacking him! He is with me!"

The soldiers acted as if they didn't hear the warden and kept hacking away. The ogre hadn't made any move to retaliate against the mage's allies until Alim's command for them to stop went unanswered. At that point it drew its heavy claw back and swept it forward in a powerful motion, violently knocking most of the group of soldiers surrounding it away. It then turned and brought a fist down on the head of one of the soldiers still standing, killing him instantly.

"Stop!" Alim screamed again, realizing that he had unwittingly communicated his own desire to stop the soldiers from attacking to his undead companion, which in turn caused it to defend itself. He looked on in horror, momentarily unable to think clearly about what was going on. That was, until he felt a strong grip on his arm shaking him.

"Kill the spell!" Leliana hissed. "Shut it down!"

Alim's mouth opened and closed as he stared in disbelief at the bard. He glanced back to the fighting, and grudgingly accepted that he couldn't salvage the situation. He closed his eyes and sighed bitterly, and much to the amazement of the soldiers the undead ogre simply collapsed and disappeared.

The guard captain, who was one of the ones attacking Target, approached. "Thank the Maker you are here, Warden!"

Alim glared daggers at the man. "So you _thank_ me by killing my companion? Do you know how much effort it took for me to raise that damned ogre after we killed it down in the village?"

The captain's eyes opened wide in shock before turning to anger. "_You_ brought that accursed thing here?"

"Accursed?" Alim asked incredulously, prompting Leliana to grab his arm again.

"Stop it," she whispered harshly. "It has not been so very long since we defended this place against a horde of summoned undead. You cannot expect an undead darkspawn to be received any differently from what you just saw."

It was Alim's turn to appear shocked. He couldn't miss the anger in her expression and tone. When he didn't reply right away, she continued, "You- we… should have known better than to bring that thing up here under the circumstances."

"B-but-"

"Alim, at least one soldier died and others were injured when your animated dead retaliated. So please, stop this right now." She would only tell him later in private that she was also angry because she knew the undead beast wouldn't have attacked unless Alim willed it, intentionally or not.

Gulping slightly, Alim nodded.

"More are coming!" shouted a soldier stationed in a lookout post atop the castle gate.

"Numbers?" the captain demanded.

"A… a lot, ser! Hundreds! We've got maybe 5 minutes!"

-==0==-

Briefly surveying the situation, the elven warden recognized that the gate was going to be the only way in and was a logical point of defense. This was likely the main body of the horde that'd been reported. But even outmanned, if they could hold the gate they could hold the castle.

"Bar the gate!" the guard captain shouted.

"Wait!" Alim exclaimed. He had an idea. Turning to the captain, he explained, "Pull all the soldiers inside but leave the gate open. We are going to draw them into a trap."

The captain eyed the warden skeptically. "Bad idea. Our strength is in keeping the darkspawn out in the first place. If they get inside the castle walls then all hell breaks loose."

"I understand that, but if we fight them outside the walls then we have to take on the whole horde at once. We can use the open gate to our advantage, to bring them through the chokepoint and take them in smaller chunks."

The captain scoffed. "I don't like it, but my orders are to follow your lead. I hope you know what you're doing, Warden." He began shouting for the guards to abandon their posts and pull back.

"Morrigan!" Alim shouted, spinning around while looking for the witch. When she stepped forward, he hurriedly asked, "You have _spell might_ going, right?" She nodded in response.

"I have an idea for a spell combination," he quickly explained. "I want you to cast a _blizzard_ that starts just inside the gate. Then just as soon as you see the first darkspawn reach it, drop a _tempest_ right on top of it."

The witch nodded slowly. "Wet cold would amplify the lightning shock. Should be a quite potent storm." Smirking, she added, "'Tis a wonder I had not thought of it myself."

Alim grinned back. "Once the storm runs its course, try to keep area spells going on the gate as long as darkspawn are still coming. I will try to help with that as well. Scorch! I am trusting you to keep Morrigan unharmed by anything that makes it through."

The hound barked in the affirmative and Alim turned to issue orders to the others. The witch found herself looking upon the warden while his attention was elsewhere, and having to force back down unpleasant emotion that was trying to surface. Scolding herself silently, she moved away to take up her position and prepare to begin casting.

-==0==-

Morrigan may have been amused by the elven mage's spell combination suggestion, even while agreeing with the principles behind it, but her amusement quickly turned to awe at the results. When she added the _tempest_ on top of the _blizzard_, the storm practically exploded with power, doubling the usual area of effect for either spell. The storm crackled with raw energy. It was a deathtrap.

Morrigan's timing had been perfect, her storm hit just as the first wave of darkspawn were reaching the gate. As they poured through the gate they were relentlessly and mercilessly cut down before even escaping the storm's sphere of influence. Those that did manage to get through, usually a hurlock alpha or an ogre, were so weakened that they were easy pickings for the wall of soldiers backed by another wall of archers firing from the higher ground afforded by the castle steps.

Even better was that because of the warden's plan to have the trap laid inside the gate, the darkspawn outside didn't know what they were running into until it was already too late. So they kept pouring through in droves like suicidal lemmings.

Larger numbers of darkspawn got through each time the witch had to recast the storm after it would fizzle out, but Wynne and Alim helped control them with her _earthquake _and his _fireball _spells_, _and the others would finish them off. Alim tried an _inferno _one time, casting it as Morrigan's storm was fading out, only to have her recast _blizzard _on top of it and extinguish the fire. He shrugged sheepishly at the witch's glare for cancelling out her spell while filing away the mental note on that particular combination.

With the trio of mages controlling the crowds coming through the gate, the overall number of darkspawn that actually got through was small enough to be handled relatively easily by the forces in the courtyard. And as the battle wore on and the corpses of fallen darkspawn continued to mount inside the castle gate, the going was even slower for the ones trying to invade. Eventually no more darkspawn came, and lookouts sent atop the gate and other key vantage points of the castle confirmed that no more were coming. Scouts were dispatched south to ascertain the state of the region and to provide advance warning if more darkspawn were spotted.

The guard captain approached Alim in the aftermath while the warden was talking to his companions. "Grey Warden," he began. When Alim glanced over, he continued, "Thank you." The captain shook his head as if still in disbelief. "We lost all of sixteen men. That is… ridiculously low compared to the enemy. We were anticipating losses in the hundreds, even more if the reinforcements from Denerim didn't arrive in time. They weren't even needed."

Alim nodded solemnly. "Thank you for trusting my plan."

The captain scoffed, then began chuckling. "I thought it was idiotic to tell you the truth. But you outranked me so there wasn't much I could do about it." His expression turning more serious, he continued, "However, I'm not too proud to admit I see now why you were in charge and I wasn't. That was a brilliant strategy executed about as perfectly as one could hope for."

"Do not be too hard on yourself, Captain. Your troops are a disciplined lot. They did well stamping out the darkspawn that got through, and that reflects well on you as their commander."

The captain gave a slight nod. "Thank you for saying so. In any case, I will not keep you from your business." As he turned to leave, one of his lieutenants came jogging up. "My lord!" he exclaimed, slightly out of breath as he addressed the elven Grey Warden. "The arl sent me to find you. Riordan of the Grey Wardens arrived just ahead of the darkspawn with urgent news. I was told to look for your arrival and notify you immediately, but then we were attacked…" he trailed off apologetically.

"_Great… Riordan got here before us and sat out another battle… I wonder what his excuse is this time?" _ Alim thought to himself before waving his hand dismissively. "It is of no concern. Do you know what the news is about?"

The lieutenant shook his head. "I don't rightly know, only that it has something to do with what he was scouting in the south before he arrived. I should take you to the grand hall right away, my lord."

Alim nodded, motioning for his companions to follow. "Very well, lead the way…"


	18. Chapter 18

"It's a relief to see you unharmed," Riordan began as Alim approached with his companions. Arl Eamon and Bann Teagan were with the older Grey Warden inside Redcliffe Castle's main hall. "And you as well, Alistair," he added.

Alim rolled his eyes before sarcastically replying, "Yes, thank you for all your help out there against the darkspawn. It was much appreciated." Almost as soon as he finished speaking he heard an exasperated sigh from Leliana, and a quick glance over at her disapproving stare made it perfectly clear she wanted him to play nice.

"We were told you brought urgent news," Alistair offered, trying to direct the conversation away from Alim's remarks.

Riordan hid his frustration with the elven warden, turning his back briefly while beginning to explain. "The darkspawn that attacked Redcliffe were relatively few in number, I'm afraid. It was assumed the horde was marching in this direction… but that is not true."

"You think?" Alim exclaimed mockingly.

"Let the man finish," Alistair groused at his fellow warden. Alim waved his hand dismissively, but didn't say anything further.

In an irritated tone, Arl Eamon spoke up. "Riordan tells us that the bulk of the horde is, in fact, heading towards Denerim. They are perhaps two days away from the capital."

"What?" Alistair asked incredulously. "Are we sure about that? That would mean…"

Riordan noticed that the condescending expression formerly worn by the elven warden had been replaced with a solemn, contemplative one. But it wasn't the expression of disbelief that covered Alistair's face. "Yes," Riordan answered, "I ventured close enough to 'listen in', as it were. I am quite certain of it."

The more he thought about it, the more Alim's agitation began to catch its second wind. "Why did we think they were coming here in the first place?" he asked in frustration.

The elder Grey Warden sighed. "The darkspawn line is wide, and many of them roam away from the main horde. Until now most of them have been seen out here in the west, and it wouldn't be unusual for scouts inexperienced with darkspawn to assume the pack they saw was larger than it really was, or to assume it was the main horde when it was not."

Alistair shook his head. "Not to mention we've been too busy worrying about who gets to wear the fancy crown to pay attention to some silly old darkspawn horde."

Riordan nodded solemnly. Turning his back again, he continued, "There is, I'm afraid, one other piece of news that is of even greater concern." After a dramatic pause, he turned back around. "The archdemon has shown itself. The dragon is at the head of the horde."

"Maker preserve us!" exclaimed Bann Teagan.

"Good," Alim stated matter-of-factly. All eyes turned towards him in bafflement at that statement. "It is good," he explained, "because it means the end is near. The archdemon will die and the darkspawn will be broken and scattered without its leader."

"You're awfully confident," Teagan replied, scoffing slightly.

The elven warden nodded sternly. "The archdemon is a fool for showing itself so soon. It could have made things miserable for us by forcing us to engage in a prolonged campaign against its minions, weakened and whittled us down to next to nothing before coming in to polish us off. Instead, the archdemon has chosen to face us at the peak of our military might, with the strength of our allies joined with us. That is a fatal mistake, one we _will_ capitalize on."

Speaking in a solemn tone, Riordan softly added, "And Grey Wardens are the only ones that can defeat the archdemon. That is why we must go."

Alim looked at the elder warden like he was crazy. "_We _must go to defend our homeland, whether the archdemon is there or not!"

"How does one even kill an archdemon?" Teagan asked.

"Good question…" Alistair muttered.

Alim grinned darkly. "It is flesh and blood, it will die like anything else. And when it does I will have its head stuffed and mounted and put on display in my estate." Leliana stared at him, horrified at that suggestion. In part because of the unusual amount of bloodlust her warden was displaying, and in part because the idea of a dead dragon head in her home was appalling. It so did not fit in with her interior design ideas.

Riordan glanced at both Alim and Alistair curiously for their remarks. Then it dawned on him. _"They do not know…"_

Alistair shook his head in frustration and annoyance at his friend. "Alim, you're missing the point. We can't get to Denerim in two days!"

"We will need to begin a forced march to the capital at once with what we have," Arl Eamon stated. "Denerim must be defended at all costs."

Alim nodded. "I want a rider sent immediately to get the reinforcements that were on the way turned around and heading back home. That will get at least some of our forces there a day sooner. And I want word sent to the Dalish warriors we asked to standby in Lothering to leave immediately for Denerim. I want them to report to Ser Cauthrien for assignment pending my arrival."

"Consider it done," replied Eamon.

"And have the rider that goes to Lothering continue on to Denerim to let Queen Anora and Ser Cauthrien know what is happening. On horseback they should be able to reach the capital ahead of the darkspawn horde. It will not be much notice, but anything is better than nothing."

"How soon can your army be ready to set out?" Alistair asked of the arl.

"By daybreak…" he answered gruffly.

Alim sighed in exasperation. _"So much for beginning a forced march 'at once'."_ It was only mid-afternoon, so daybreak was a good sixteen hours away. That was a lot of time to waste when they didn't have any to spare as it was. "Then we are done talking," Alim stated sharply. "Hurry up and get them ready, we cannot afford to delay leaving even a minute longer than necessary."

"I will give the orders at once," Teagan said, bristling slightly at the attitude on display by the Grey Warden. "We will let you know when we are ready to march."

As the group began to disperse, Leliana grabbed Alim by the arm and tugged on him to follow her off to the side. She turned and glared at him. "What has gotten into you?" she demanded in a tone that was harsh but only loud enough for him to hear. "You are behaving like a little brat!"

Riordan cleared his throat to get the attention of the other two wardens. Alim glanced away from Leliana to see what the elder warden wanted. "Perhaps you and Alistair should meet with me before you retire. There are… things we need to speak of."

Alim nodded to his fellow warden. Pulling himself free of the bard's grasp, he grumbled, "You will have to save your griping for later, I am busy."

She would have furiously retorted if she hadn't been so dumbfounded at his remark. Instead, she simply watched in disbelief as he turned and left the room with Riordan and Alistair, the latter shrugging apologetically to her before following the other two out.

-==0==-

Entering Riordan's room, the older man closed the door and turned to his young brothers-in-arms. "Please know, I assumed you had already been told this. Otherwise I would have told you when you freed me back in Denerim. But I suppose it makes sense, you were both new recruits and Duncan would not have expected… I am sorry…"

While Alim stared back suspiciously, Alistair tentatively asked, "Sorry about what? What are you apologizing for?"

Riordan sighed. "Tell me, have you ever wondered why exactly it is that the Grey Wardens are needed to defeat the darkspawn, to end a Blight?"

Alistair shrugged. "It has something to do with the taint inside us, right?"

Alim nodded in agreement. "I have always assumed that as well, though it has never seemed like a complete answer. I mean, our companions have killed plenty of darkspawn as well in our journeys. The ones they killed are just as dead as the ones Alistair and I have killed. So the taint alone cannot explain why it would be different with the archdemon."

"Yet the taint is precisely what it involves," answered Riordan. "True enough, the archdemon may be slain just as any other darkspawn. But if it is done by anyone other than a Grey Warden, it will not be enough." He began to pace the room as he continued his explanation. "If that happens, the essence of the beast will pass through the taint to the nearest darkspawn and be born anew in that body. Thus the dragon is all but immortal."

"And if a Grey Warden does it?" Alim asked.

"If a Grey Warden does the slaying… the essence of the archdemon travels into the Grey Warden instead."

Alim raised an eyebrow curiously. "That… does not sound conducive to long-term health."

Riordan chuckled sardonically. "That, my friend, is an understatement. A darkspawn is an empty, soulless vessel, but a Grey Warden is not. The essence of the archdemon is destroyed in the transfer… and… so is the Grey Warden."

Both of the younger Grey Wardens mouths dropped open in shock. After a few moments of stunned silence, Alistair weakly concluded, "Meaning… the Grey Warden who kills the archdemon… dies?"

"Yes…" Riordan answered softly. "But without the archdemon, the Blight ends. It is the only way."

Alistair shook his head, still in disbelief. "There really is no other way? A Grey Warden has to die?"

"As far as we know, the transfer of the archdemon's essence is automatic. If one of us is not present when the killing blow is made, then it is all for nothing. There is no other way. And for that, I am sorry. I know this is difficult to find out so close to the battle."

"_I am going to die,"_ Alim thought grimly to himself. Nothing Riordan had done had convinced the elven warden that the older man was capable enough of getting that far.

Seeing the elf's contemplative expression, Riordan gently added, "I realize now that you truly did not understand why I've kept myself out of harm's way since you freed me, and I see why you have been so angry with me. But this was the reason. With only three of us, I could not take unnecessary risks. One of us _must_ make it to the archdemon."

Alim nodded slowly before keeping his head slightly bowed in shame. In a contrite tone, he replied, "Forgive me. I did not know…"

"It is already done, my friend."

"Why is this such a secret?" Alistair asked, steering the discussion back on track. "I mean, if Loghain and the others had known why Grey Wardens were needed, he probably wouldn't have betrayed us or tried to have us eliminated?"

Riordan sighed gently. "We keep it a secret for the same reason the Joining is kept secret. Who would become a Grey Warden if they knew what end might await them?"

"Well, judging from what was said at the Landsmeet, I do not think the Joining is as big of a secret as we previous thought," Alim suggested. "Maybe not common knowledge, but hardly unknown. It would seem though that at least a country's leaders should be privy to why Grey Wardens must be the ones to take out the archdemon."

"Exactly," Alistair agreed. "It could've saved a lot of trouble if the king and queen had known that without the Grey Wardens there is no hope."

Riordan shrugged. "Perhaps, but there is nothing to be done about it now." Sighing again, he continued, "In Blights past, when the time came, the eldest of the Grey Wardens would decide among themselves who would take the final blow. If possible, it should be mine to take this time. I am the eldest, and the taint will not spare me much longer anyway."

"We do know the Deep Roads await us in the end otherwise," Alistair said, "so that makes sense. Thank you, Riordan."

Alim had a thought. "Does a Grey Warden merely have to be present when the killing blow is dealt to the archdemon? I mean, short of something obvious like cutting off the head, how is it possible to determine which blow will be the one that finally kills it? What happens if we and our companions have the archdemon surrounded and are hacking away at it, yet it is say Sten or Oghren that actually lands the deathblow?"

Riordan appeared thoughtful for a moment. "I… do not know the answer to that. We always spoke of killing the archdemon as if there would only be Grey Wardens and darkspawn present. But based on what we know, the essence should still travel to the closest Grey Warden."

"And it becomes like picking a raffle ticket at that point… it could be any of us," Alim concluded.

"Should we all be present, perhaps you and Alistair could fight at range while I stay in close. If we get the archdemon weakened enough, I can finish it off myself to ensure the essence passes to me. But if I fail, the deed falls upon one of you. The Blight must be stopped now or Ferelden will be destroyed before Grey Wardens from other countries can assemble."

"We understand," Alistair said in a tone that was more resolute than he felt. Alim nodded solemnly.

Riordan nodded in return. "We have a long road ahead of us tomorrow and little time to rest before then. I will let you return to your rooms."

-==0==-

After leaving Riordan's room and starting down the hall, Alistair cleared this throat lightly. "What are you going to do about Leliana?"

Alim scoffed, realizing the point of the question. "Worried I will spill more Grey Warden secrets?" he asked sarcastically.

Alistair frowned. "Alim…"

Alim stopped and turned to face his friend. Shaking his head, he pointedly asked, "Tell me, Warden Commander, does she not deserve to know that I will likely die in a few days, and not just from falling in battle? Will you forbid me from telling her this?"

Alistair gave an exasperated sigh, running his fingers through his hair. "Come on, man, give me more credit than that. I was actually going to suggest that you _do_ tell her, if you weren't already planning to. But what makes you think you'll be the one that dies?"

Realizing that he'd overreacted again and jumped to the wrong conclusion, the elf sighed deeply. "I am sorry, Alistair. I do not know why I am assuming the worst of everyone today, or why I cannot control my emotions."

The former templar smirked very slightly. "Stress, Alim, stress. You tend to let it build up until you snap. Don't worry, we've all learned to recognize and deal with it."

"Ugh… am I really that bad?"

"I'm not saying you're emotionally unstable or anything like that," Alistair replied with a light laugh that was weighed down by the realities they'd learned minutes earlier. "Look, we all have our moments of bitchiness, some of us more than others."

Alim grinned slightly, knowing exactly who his friend was referring to. "Still, I really _am_ sorry. You did not deserve me flying off like that." _"Neither did Lel earlier…"_ he thought solemnly, groaning inwardly in frustration at himself.

Giving a brief nod, Alistair asked again, "So what makes you think you'll be the one that dies?"

Sighing, Alim waved his hand. "I get it now that I did not understand what Riordan had been doing and that I've treated him poorly. But that aside, I still have little confidence that he will even make it to the archdemon. Perhaps he will surprise me… but he looks every bit his age in how he carries himself, and I have no idea how long it has been since his sword has drawn blood. The battle ahead is not exactly the time to be shaking out the rust in one's skill."

"I… yeah… I know what you mean," Alistair agreed reluctantly. "But that still leaves both of us. Do you doubt me as well?"

"Not at all."

"Then, why?"

Alim paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. He reached up and put his hand on the taller man's shoulder, and Alistair couldn't miss the flood of emotion in the elf's expression. "I will not let you die," Alim whispered hoarsely before turning and quickly walking away from his stunned friend.

-==0==-

The elven warden closed his eyes, leaning forward and resting his head on the door outside his room. He took a deep breath and attempted to calm his nerves. He expected to find a rather upset red haired girl on the other side of the door, one who was rightfully upset at _him_. But that wasn't the biggest concern. He had complete confidence that she'd accept his apology for earlier. He simply had no idea how he was going to tell her that this was very likely their last night together. Once they left in the morning they'd march nearly non-stop until they reached Denerim, and they'd go right into battle when they got there. And then…

He shook his head, sighing deeply again. Deciding that he was wasting what precious little time he had left with her, he turned the handle and pushed open the door.

Entering the room, he did a double-take at not seeing Leliana as he'd expected, but rather Morrigan standing in front of the fireplace with her back to the door. He glanced back at the hallway, confirming that he hadn't gone into the wrong room by mistake. "Ummm…" he uttered in a confused tone.

"Do not be alarmed, 'tis only I," the witch said softly. She glanced back briefly to confirm the warden was alone before returning her gaze to the fire.

"Is something wrong? Where is Leliana?"

Morrigan chuckled softly. The warm, gentle mood she was portraying was in sharp contrast to the internal turmoil she was experiencing. She'd known this discussion was coming for more than a year, but if anything she felt less confident now than she did back then. "I have not seen her since the end of the meeting with the arl. She stormed off muttering to herself mostly in Orlesian, though I think I made out the words 'pig-headed' in passing."

Alim winced slightly. "Well, I have a pretty fair idea who she was talking about." The witch turned around, facing him with an uneasy smile on her face. Her striking amber eyes were aglow against the backdrop of the fireplace. "Are you okay?" he asked. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. She appeared… _vulnerable_.

"I am well enough. 'Tis you who are in danger."

The warden studied her expression carefully. _"She knows…"_ he realized. He sighed deeply. "How long have you known?"

"Since before we ever met. I know what happens when the archdemon dies. I know that a Grey Warden must be sacrificed, and that sacrifice could very well be you."

"And in all this time you never thought to, you know, share that little tidbit of information? You knew neither Alistair nor I knew about it."

Morrigan hesitated. She could practically feel the tension emanating from him, and knew she needed to handle him as gently as possible if this was going to work out in her favor. But being gentle was definitely not her forte. She sauntered towards him, projecting an air of confidence that she really wasn't feeling. "I… mmm… 'twas irrelevant before the archdemon revealed itself. I did not see the sense in adding additional worries. Would you have even believed me if I did tell you? And… I have a plan, you see. A way out. The loop in your hole, as it were. There need not be a Grey Warden sacrificed."

Alim's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. "And just how do you know this?"

Morrigan shrugged. "I know a great many things. How I know is not as important as what I offer, however."

"Which is?"

"As I have said, a way out. A way out for all of the Grey Wardens, no sacrifice required."

"Please, Morrigan, speak plainly. It is not like you to mince words, so the fact that you just repeated that same vague assertion tells me I am not going to like what you are about to say. Correct?"

The witch sighed gently. This was already not going as well as she'd hoped. "A ritual… performed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night. A ritual to ensure that the archdemon's death does not claim your life as well."

"I do not imagine it is so simple that there is no price to be paid for this _way out_."

"Perhaps not… but that price need not be unbearable, especially if there is so much to be gained."

Alim scowled. He liked Morrigan, but he didn't like how she was acting. She was talking in circles and layers of meaning. He was all too familiar with this type of thing and had always appreciated Morrigan for _not_ being like this. And her unwillingness to get to the point so he could go find Leliana was starting to aggravate him. "Morrigan, my patience is extremely short right now. What _exactly_ is it you are suggesting?"

Morrigan bit her lip nervously at his reaction. "I… I ask that you hear me out, that you listen to the entire offer."

"_Morrigan…"_ he stated impatiently.

"Yes, yes," she replied quickly. She broke eye contact and began to pace nervously. "What I propose is this… lay with me tonight, and from our joining a child will be conceived."

Alim's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open in shock. "Wh-what?"

The witch continued as if she didn't hear his response. "The child will bear your taint, and when the archdemon is slain its essence will seek the child like a beacon."

"Wait, what, so my offspring will be a darkspawn?"

"No, Alim, it will not. It will be something different… a child with the soul of an Old God."

"How is this any different?" Alim demanded. "Except instead of a Grey Warden dying it will be an innocent child?"

"At that early stage, the child can absorb the essence and not perish. The archdemon is still destroyed, and no Grey Warden has to die in the process."

"You should know how I feel about blood magic!" he growled.

"'Tis _old_ magic," the witch countered, "from a time before the Circle of Magi was even created." Thinking back to Honnleath, she thought to herself, _"And 'twould hardly be the first time blood magic has saved your life." _She knew not to vocalize that thought, however, since it would only make things worse.

Alim shook his head. "I cannot do this."

"Why not?" Morrigan asked incredulously, unable to hold back her temper. "Because of Leliana? Do you truly believe she would choose for you to _die_ rather than spend one night with me? Think about what I am offering you! A chance to avoid death! A chance to slay the archdemon and live as a hero! No Grey Warden in history has ever done this!"

"You know I do not care about being a hero. That means _nothing_ to me."

"Fine… then how about the chance to live out your days in domestic bliss until the taint calls you to the Deep Roads?"

Alim scowled again but fell silent. His mind was scattered. He had so many questions and fears. He was mentally and physically tired, and just wanted to shut down and not deal with any of it. But he also knew it was impossible to do so.

Seeing that his expression at least appeared conflicted, Morrigan pressed her attack. "You _know_ she would want you to live."

"I… I… yes, probably…" He laid his face in the palm of his hand. "Why not Alistair? Or even Riordan? Why does it have to be _me_?"

Taking a calculated risk, Morrigan reached out and touched his shoulder, running her hand in an affectionate gesture over it. "_You _should know how I feel about Alistair," she replied with a slight chuckle. "And you and I both know the old fool would refuse. He is to die soon enough anyway and would prefer the archdemon to the Deep Roads. He is likely not suitable anyway, having been tainted for as long as he has."

"So I win by default?" Alim asked sarcastically. "There is a ringing endorsement…" He wasn't sure why he even said that, it wasn't like he wanted the witch to want to have his child.

"Oh, did I bruise your ego?" she asked in a playful, teasing tone. "I may not see you the same way your bard does, but I _do_ care for you, Alim. I mean that." What she left unspoken was that she wanted the child to be Alim's for a very practical reason. She wanted the child to be a mage as well. If only one parent was a mage, such as if Alistair performed the ritual with her, there was still a good possibility but no guarantee that the child would inherit an affinity towards magic. However, if both parents were mages, it would ensure the child was as well. And Morrigan really did think Alistair was an idiot, that he was a stereotypical warrior - physically powerful, but dumb. She preferred not to chance the child inheriting his mental capacity if she didn't have to. On the other hand, she had a deep respect for Alim's intellect and power. The thought of her child being a combination of his power, her power, and the soul of an Old God was intoxicating.

"Where did this ritual even come from anyway? And how do you even know it would work if it has never been done before?" He still didn't see how he could go through with it, but since he'd agreed to hear out the witch's proposal, he was going to at least get as much information as possible.

Morrigan smirked, inwardly pleased at the thought that she was gaining the upper hand, that the warden's inquisitiveness meant he was becoming more open to the idea. "From Flemeth, of course. This is what my mother intended when she sent me with you. She is the one who gave me the ritual and told me what I was meant to do with it."

Alim fell back into thought, struggling to concentrate. Morrigan continued, "Surely this does not surprise you? Did you not wonder why Flemeth saved your life? Why she aided you? This is why. But regardless of that, what is important is that I am here now and am offering this to save your life. It will work."

The elf closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "What am I missing… this is too convenient…" he muttered out loud to himself. Opening his eyes, he asked, "What exactly do _you _get out of this? Surely you are not doing this solely out of the kindness of your heart, friend or not."

The witch took and exhaled a large breath. "After this is done, you allow me to walk away… and you do not follow. _Ever._ The child will be mine to raise as I wish."

"Wh-what? You intend to just disappear with our child? Why? What are you planning? No offense, but you have never struck me as the maternal type."

"It is none of your concern."

Alim shook his head vehemently. "You do not get to ask me to father a child and then claim what happens to that child is not my concern. I strongly suggest you become more forthcoming if you want me to even consider this."

The witch fought back to urge to scowl at the elf. "I will say that I seek the essence of what the Old God once was, not the dark forces that corrupted it. Some things are worth preserving in this world. Make of that what you will."

Alim glared in irritation at the lack of a real answer. "Will I ever see the child? Or see you again?"

"No, you will not. That is all I ask in return for freeing you from the burden the Grey Wardens have placed on you."

Alim backed away and began to pace. "I do not like that you are not being honest with me."

"I have said nothing deceitful," she replied, defending herself.

"That you will not tell me your plans and that you, my supposed friend, insist I never see you again, suggests to me that you have something evil in mind, something you know I will not approve of. What will you say when the child asks of its father? Will you make up some lie to ensure he or she never decides to come looking for me?"

Morrigan turned away to hide the guilty expression she couldn't stop from forming. Lying to the child was exactly what she intended to do, for that very reason. She did not want the child complicating things by finding Alim. In her perfect world, Alim and the hound would come with her after slaying the archdemon. They would raise and train the child together not as lovers, but as best friends. Two of the most powerful magic wielders in Thedas training a child that would exceed them both. And when the warden departed for the Deep Roads, she'd be free to carry out her plan. But she knew it was a dream with no basis in reality. There was a long list of reasons why it would never happen. She had no alternative but to go it alone and keep his influence out of her life, out of the child's life.

When Morrigan didn't reply, Alim didn't need to see her face to know her answer. He fell silent once more, still pacing agitatedly back and forth. Amidst his jumbled thoughts he suddenly had a moment of clarity. His mind latched on to it and slowly began connecting the dots.

"_Flemeth sent Morrigan to gain a child with the soul of an Old God…"_

"_Flemeth raised up powerful apostates and then transferred herself to their bodies when she got too old…"_

"_Morrigan learned of this and had Flemeth killed off…"_

_"Morrigan still wants to go through with the ritual even though Flemeth is gone..."_

"_Morrigan…"_

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, gasping in shock. He whirled around and glared furiously at the witch.

"You used me!" he shouted in rage. "Dammit, Morrigan! You convinced me you were my friend, but that was a lie! You _used _me all along!"

"What are you talking about?" she asked in a tone mixed of bewilderment and resentment at the accusation.

"Flemeth! You said Flemeth was going to possess you, you pleaded with me to kill her in order to protect you. But that was not true, was it?"

"Of course it was true! I told you what I found in the grimoire!"

"Tell me the truth!" Alim screamed. "For once, just tell me the truth!"

"What is it you wish me to say?" she asked, her anger rising to match his.

Alim stalked forward until he was mere inches away from her. In a harsh, uncompromising tone he replied, "Flemeth's plan was never to take _you_. She wanted the child of this ritual, the child with the soul of an Old God. _That_ was to be her next vessel, not _you_. But once you learned her secret, you figured you would just take the child and do the same thing yourself. So you risked _me_ to have Flemeth eliminated. But even if I had failed, you still had Alistair, right? That _is_ your plan, isn't it, Morrigan? You intend to raise a child bearing the immortal essence of an Old God, and when your body is aged and the child is powerful enough… you will possess it. You will be Flemeth anew, except even more powerful. I just have no idea what you intend to do with that power."

Morrigan opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't. His accusations stung, but she knew nothing she could say would be satisfactory to him. Sure, she could tell him that in her panic over discovering the secret to Flemeth's longevity in the grimoire Alim recovered from the Circle Tower, she didn't even consider that her mother intended to bypass her in favor of the child she would bear from the dark ritual. And she could tell him that the details of conducting the ritual her mother used to take over another body were learned much later from Flemeth's true grimoire, which wasn't even obtained until after Alim and the others had killed her. So she _could_ in good conscience tell the warden that, at the time, she didn't use him in the way he thought she did… but she knew he wouldn't believe her. Not now, anyway.

Morrigan could also tell Alim honestly that she never lied or even mislead him regarding her feelings for him. Calling him the only friend she'd ever had was completely sincere. The things she'd done for him, taught him, weren't done to build up favor to cash in now, but because she wanted to. She _did _care for him, and she knew she always would no matter how bitter their parting was to be. However reluctant she was in the beginning to go along with the Grey Wardens at her mother's insistence, the time she'd spent in his company had been the best of her life. She could say that the very fact she cared enough to actually feel unpleasant emotions like hurt and guilt at his biting accusations was indicative that he meant something to her. He'd probably ask how she could say that with a straight face while at the same time insisting they never see each other again after this, but her need to disappear was truly not because she didn't want to see him again. It was driven by more pragmatic concerns. In part, to prevent the Chantry from imprisoning her child in the Circle Tower, and in part because she knew that over time Alim would erode her will to carry out her plan. So while she _could_ tell him again how much he meant to her, she wouldn't. It was futile. He wouldn't believe her. She'd clearly lost his trust, and there simply wasn't the time left to regain it.

The elven warden closed his eyes and sighed at her lack of response, which he took as a tacit admission of guilt on her part. He turned slowly and began to walk away.

"Wh-what will you do now?" the witch asked weakly.

Alim stopped but didn't turn around to face her. "It is early yet. I need some time to myself to think. Give me a couple of hours and I will come to your room and give you my answer." With that he left the room, leaving behind a witch of the wilds who was now trying to hold back a tide of unpleasant emotions that threatened to pull her under.

-==0==-

Leliana sighed. After helping the Redcliffe Chantry's lay sisters finish serving food to the people taking up temporary refuge in the castle, she had gone back to the chapel on the main floor to find Revered Mother Hannah and see if there was anything else she could do to help out. Instead, she found the one person she was trying to avoid right now. Sitting in a pew at the side of the room was Alim, bent forward with his head in his hands.

She quietly observed him. He never looked up, but his mannerisms – the fidgeting, the shaking of his head, the deep sighs – told her something was wrong. She debated going to him, but she was still upset with him for earlier. She selfishly hoped he was feeling guilty for how he treated her, having no idea what he'd been through in the 75 or so minutes since he'd pulled away from her with that snide parting shot and left with the other two Grey Wardens. A few minutes passed and she'd yet to make up her mind whether to approach him or quietly leave him be. A voice broke the silence, however, making the decision for her.

"Did you need something, my dear?" Mother Hannah asked as she returned to the chapel through another door at the far side of the room from where Leliana was standing.

Alim's head jerked up in surprise at the sudden noise, and he noticed right away that the revered mother's eyes were not directed at him. He glanced back to his left and saw Leliana. Seeing her frowning at him, he quickly averted his eyes back down to the floor.

"No, Revered Mother, thank you though," Leliana replied politely while starting to walk towards the warden. As she spoke, she gestured to indicate she was going to talk to him.

Mother Hannah nodded. "I shall be in the other room if you need anything."

-==0==-

The elven warden gave no reaction as his bard silently sat down next to him and folded her hands in her lap. Up close, she could now tell that he was trembling slightly as well. She realized that whatever was bothering him, it went beyond regret for earlier. But she waited for him to make the first move. After a couple of more minutes of silence, he whispered hoarsely, "_Help_ me…"

She blinked in surprise at the desperation in his voice. "What has happened?" she asked softly.

"I-I… I do not know what to do…" He roughly pulled his hood down in frustration before sitting upright and looking at her.

Leliana could see the pleading in his eyes. Trying to put him more at ease, she smiled gently and said, "Hey, if this is about being a jerk earlier, a simple apology is all that is necessary."

Alim laughed, but there was no joy in it. "I would say I am sorry a million times if it could make this better… but it cannot…"

"What is wrong?" she asked again when he trailed off and got quiet again.

"You know how you say it is my destiny to slay the archdemon, that I am fated to be the hero?"

Leliana nodded slowly, unsure of where he was going with this.

Alim sighed bitterly. "If that is what truly awaits, then I have to choose between guaranteed death a few days from now or committing a despicable act tonight to save my life."

The bard's eyes opened in shock. "Explain…" she demanded. Already a sense of dread was building in the pit of her stomach.

Nodding sadly, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Bear with me, _please_…" he requested softly while taking her hands in his. Then he began to tell her of the conversations with Riordan and Morrigan.

-==0==-

The longer Alim talked, the worse the bard felt. The revelation of the archdemon taking out a Grey Warden with it was a gut punch as it was, but it was even more sickening knowing that Morrigan had known all along and was with them for no other reason than to exploit that situation for her own gain. Leliana wanted to be strong for him, to comfort him, but in the end she was left as broken as he was. This was hardly the first time she'd worried for his safety. The difference though was in the past she could always cling to hope, to her belief that the Maker had put her with Alim for a purpose and that He would preserve her warden. Faced now with the reality that there was no hope for his survival without enabling the witch to carry out a wicked atrocity, her world was coming apart.

The couple clung tightly to each other. The close physical presence was not much comfort under the circumstances, but neither would give it up.

"Wh-what am I going to do, Lel?" he asked, even while knowing it was in vain.

"I… I do not… do not know…" she admitted somberly.

"What do _you_ want me to do?"

Leliana hesitated. In her heart she already knew. But she didn't feel like she could make this decision for him. She couldn't take the chance that he'd regret it later and resent her, though it tore her up inside to refuse to help him when he needed her most. "I… I am sorry, my dearest one, I cannot say. I know you, you will go along with what I say… and I cannot allow myself to make this decision for you. I… I will… s-support whatever you decide to do. I will love you either way."

Alim sighed heavily. "_Please_, tell me _something_… this affects you too, you know?"

"I… I will not…" She prayed he wouldn't keep pushing, as her resolve was already wavering.

He tried an alternate approach, pulling back and searching her eyes and expression for an answer. Recognizing what he was attempting to do, the bard put on a mask of neutral impassivity, one that revealed nothing. Realizing that she was intentionally blocking his attempts to get her opinion, he growled and pulled away from her, standing up and turning his back to her.

His reaction was heartbreaking to her, and grief immediately welled up inside of her. "Don't push me away, please…" she whispered hoarsely. "Do not do this…"

"Who is pushing who away here?" Alim demanded in frustration. "I plead for your help, and you refuse! It is like in your heart you are already moving on."

The fiery redhead's anger flared instantly at the accusation. Before she knew it she was on her feet and in his face, meeting his stern gaze. "What would you have me say?" she hissed. "You want me to tell you I'm selfish, that I so desperately want you to live that I am willing to risk whatever malevolence that witch has planned? That the thought of losing you is so unbearable that I would gladly send you to fffu- to have sex with- that woman, for even one extra day with you?"

Alim hung his head shamefully, closing his eyes. "N-no, Lel…" he answered, his trembling voice barely a whisper. "I-I… I w-want you to tell me that I am… I am… not as evil as I feel… for wanting to live even while knowing the cost. Th-that you do not h-hate me for not being strong enough to just accept death."

The fire in the bard's eyes extinguished just as quickly as it had ignited. She felt a catch in her throat, and rather than speak she roughly grabbed Alim and pulled him to her, holding his head against her chest and pressing her face into his hair.

Alim continued softly, "If… if you will h-hate me… if I would lose you… I-I… would choose death instead."

Leliana shuddered, shedding her own tears. "No, my dearest one, no…" she cried. "I'm yours 'til whatever end."

The elf choked up further, feeling some relief but also feeling an increased sense of trepidation and guilt in anticipation of what would follow.

A prolonged silence took hold while the couple remained physically close but retreated into their own thoughts. Leliana finally composed herself and asked the question at the forefront of her mind. "So…" she began quietly, "you will go to her, yes?"

Alim sighed deeply. "I… yes…" he replied in a somber tone. "Though even with your support, I still do not know how I can make love to Morrigan."

"You cannot," she quickly agreed. "If you do, you and I will have big trouble."

The warden's eyes opened wide at her statement. He looked up into her eyes in bewilderment. "B-but you said…"

A slight smirk tugged at the corner of the bard's lips. "Do you know how many people I've made love to in my life?" When Alim shook his head in confusion, she took a step back and raised her left hand up in a closed fist in front of her. Extending her index finger, she matter-of-factly stated, "Marjolaine." Extending her middle finger alongside her index finger, she added, "You. That is all."

"I-I do not understand," he admitted.

Leliana smiled gently. "There is a difference. Detach your heart and all that's left is the physical act. Without the heart, it is not love. It is merely a pleasurable diversion, a job, or an act of manipulation carrying out one's mission. So, no… you cannot make love to that witch. You understand now, yes?"

Alim nodded solemnly. "I guess this is not any of those things you described though."

The bard's face scrunched up as she thought. Finally, she nodded in agreement. Grinning very slightly, she replied, "No, but for the sake of our sanity, I will grant you a pleasurable diversion."

"Well… I will not linger. I will get it over with as quickly as I can and get out of there."

Leliana shook her head. "You will not. You will give her your best."

"Wh-what? Why?"

"If I have anything to say about it, this will be your only time with someone other than me. It is only natural that you will compare experiences, so go ahead and get the full Morrigan _experience_, as it were. I will wager any amount that she won't hold a candle to _me_."

"_Wow,"_ Alim mouthed silently before smiling softly at her self-confidence.

The bard smirked at his reaction. "And…" she continued while beginning to grin deviously, "I've trained a rather fantastic lover, if I do say so myself. You've been an _outstanding_ student in the art of lovemaking. I want that witch to experience what she can _never_ have again, and when she's all alone at night in her little hut in the wilds, she'll remember and pine for it, all the while knowing you are _mine_ and that she'll never feel your touch again."

Alim was surprised at the spitefulness in her tone but guessed that this was how she was mentally coping with the difficult situation, by making it a game about sex and ignoring for now the darker purpose behind it. Her encouragement didn't make him feel any better about what he was going off to do though. Still, he knew there wasn't really anything else to say. It had been decided, and now he just needed to go perform the dark deed. He embraced his bard once more.

"It is still possible that neither of us will survive the battle to come anyway. I do not wish to spend what could be our last night alone together apart from you, so I will not be gone more than a couple of hours. It is not quite 4:00 yet. Meet in our room at 6:00 and we will go get dinner together?"

"A couple of hours? Grey Warden endurance indeed," she replied with a smirk. Alim blushed slightly, but didn't say anything in reply.

Understanding that he was going now, Leliana's mood turned more somber. "6:00," she agreed. An idea was beginning to take shape in her mind. "Do me a favor?" When he nodded, she continued, "Do _not_ be late, no matter what."

The elven warden's curiosity was piqued by the urgency of her request, but he merely nodded again in response before reluctantly turning away and leaving the chapel.

-==0==-

Even though it had been nearly the full two hours, Morrigan knew the warden would keep his word about coming to her room with an answer. But she maddeningly had no sense of what his decision would be. She could make a case either way. In the meantime she'd gone ahead and prepared for the ritual just in case, but that had less to do with a belief that Alim would agree to it and more to just provide a distraction to her chaotic thoughts. In hindsight she regretted not enlisting the bard, thinking it a miscalculation not using the girl's influence to her advantage. Morrigan had debated doing so, but finally decided that the Maker-loving Orlesian wouldn't have the stomach for the nature of the ritual. Concerned about how the girl would react, Morrigan had also considered trying to convince Alim that it would be for the best if Leliana never found out.

Instead, she opted to play the girl's desire for him to live as her trump card against the warden. Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on him figuring out her long-term intentions before the ritual was complete. That knowledge had dramatically shifted the tone of the conversation, and as far as his decision went could very well tip the balance the opposite direction. If she'd had the bard on her side, the warden would likely have been far less insightful about it right away, and she wouldn't be stuck in this situation. While she could still possibly fall back on Alistair if Alim refused, she thought, the fool was even less likely to agree and it was far less desirable option for her. But as frustrated as she was, she'd played her hand and there was little to do now but wait.

A soft knock at the door brought a sharp spike in the witch's heart rate. She knew it was him. Taking a deep breath, she swiftly closed the gap between where she'd been pacing and the door. She'd wanted to give off an air of calm confidence, but her body betrayed the anxiety she really felt.

Morrigan opened the door to find her expected visitor. She instantly searched his expression for any visible indication of his answer, but the tentative smile was inconclusive.

"May I come in?" he asked softly.

Not trusting herself to speak right away in such an unfamiliar state of heightened emotion, the witch nodded and stepped to the side to let him in. She took another deep calming breath as she closed the door behind him, and then turned to face the elf. She couldn't help her fidgeting hands as she waited nervously for his answer.

Alim took his own deep breath to calm his nerves. He felt the witch's weighty gaze on him, though his own eyes were directed at the floor in front of him. He wasn't surprised that she was waiting for him to speak. They both knew why he was there.

"I have to be somewhere at 6:00," he said quietly, without preamble.

Morrigan's eyes opened wide in realization that he had just given his agreement to participate in the ritual. She nodded in acknowledgement while relief washed over her, though staring at the floor he didn't see either. "Then let's not allow any of the time to be wasted…" she replied, moving towards him with purpose.

-==0==-

The elven warden returned to his own room with only a couple of minutes to spare. He really wanted to see Leliana, but at the same time he wondered if there would be any awkwardness over what he'd spent the last couple of hours doing. Quietly opening the door and entering the room, Alim was somewhat surprised that she wasn't there waiting. He called out to see if she was in the washroom, but didn't get an answer. Sighing lightly, he decided he could at least get cleaned up while he waited and began to remove his armor again. In the process of doing that, he finally noticed a folded page lying on the bed. Frowning with slight concern as to what the contents would be, Alim unfolded and began to read the note his bard had left for him.

_ My dearest one,_

_ I have left fresh water in the bath and clean clothes on the linen rack.  
Scrub that vile woman's filth off of you (twice for good measure!) and meet me in the chapel at 6:30.  
Please do not be late._

_ ~L_

Alim raised an eyebrow curiously, wondering what she was up to. Thinking about it while walking into the washroom, he concluded that she must have decided to occupy her time helping Mother Hannah rather than sitting around the room anxiously waiting on him. Feeling the tepid water in the tub, he hit it with a _flame blast _spell to raise the temperature more to his liking. Satisfied with that, he finished discarding his armor and began to get cleaned up.

-==0==-

"You in there, Alim?" called a voice from the front room as the elven warden was buttoning the burgundy long sleeved collared shirt that Leliana had left for him. He walked out into the bedroom while tucking it into his black pants.

"Hey, Zev. What do you need? I am in a hurry to leave, to be honest." He sat down on the edge of the bed and began pulling on the ankle high boots the bard had left for him with the clothes. He hadn't seen the boots before, but this was hardly the first time new clothes had shown up seemingly out of nowhere.

The Antivan elf, himself dressed casually in dark gray pants and a teal shirt with a single dagger hanging from his belt, smirked at his friend. "Aye, that's what I'm here for."

"What?"

"I'm your escort, so to speak. I have been given the task of making sure you don't get intercepted or distracted along the way."

Alim glanced up curiously at his fellow elf. "What exactly is going on?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zevran deadpanned.

"Ahhh… I get it. She threatened you with something awful if you let the secret slip."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zevran echoed before grinning.

"Alright, alright…" Alim grumbled playfully. He quickly finished getting ready, and then left with Zev, anxious to find out what Leliana had in store for him.

-==0==-

Alim entered the chapel with Zev to find the rest of his companions standing around. At least, most of them were present. Notably absent were Morrigan, which he couldn't say was a surprise, and… Leliana. He glanced around at his friends, who were smiling at him, trying not to appear as confused as he felt. Fortunately he didn't have to ask again what was going on, because he'd barely gotten into the room when Alistair whistled loudly and moments later Leliana and Mother Hannah entered from the side room.

At the appearance of the bard and the revered mother, most of the others quietly found seats in pews on either side of the large room. Shale remained standing off to the side. Leliana, dressed in her only nice dress, strode briskly towards him while smiling brightly. She took his hand and tugged for him to come along to the front where Mother Hannah was waiting.

Alim tilted his head closer to hers as they walked. "Is this… what I think it is?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, it is… unless you object?"

"Not exactly the time or place I envisioned this happening, but of course I do not object. Getting married was my idea originally, right?"

"How could I ever forget? You were so _eloquent_ in proposing."

Alim snorted slightly. "Something like that…"

Arriving in front of the revered mother, Leliana turned and faced her warden. "Thank you for indulging me in getting married now, instead of waiting until after the Blight," she whispered appreciatively.

"Thank _you_ for thinking of this," he whispered back sincerely. He felt sure this was a spur of the moment thing prompted by Morrigan's ritual, but he also knew Leliana wouldn't go through with getting married if it wasn't what she wanted anyway. That knowledge enabled him to drive away the negative thought that the wedding was taking place for the wrong reasons.

Mother Hannah cleared her throat, drawing the attention of everyone. And with that, she began the impromptu marriage ceremony that included little more than a brief exchanging of vows, placing the rings that Queen Anora had gifted them on each other's fingers, and sharing a kiss to the cheers and applause of their companions.

The entire ceremony lasted only ten minutes, but it accomplished all that was needed. And with the situation being what it was, with an early morning departure awaiting, all in attendance were perfectly content with the short ceremony followed by an informal _reception_ that was simply the group eating a late dinner together before retiring to their individual rooms for the night.

-==0==-

"You look like you have something on your mind," Leliana remarked. Alim was lying on his back and she was alongside him with her head on his shoulder and her left hand resting on his bare chest. His right hand was absentmindedly stroking her hand, running his fingertips over her wedding band. His eyes appeared distant and contemplative.

He sighed lightly. "Do you think I should tell Alistair?"

The bard closed her eyes briefly, sighing herself. She knew what subject he was talking about. "Probably…" she admitted. Thinking about it more, she added, "There is no need to go into the specifics I think. Tell him that Flemeth gave Morrigan old magic that consumes the essence of the archdemon in place of a Grey Warden and leave it at that. At least for now."

Alim frowned at the thought of misleading his friend. Before he could give it too much thought, however, Leliana rolled over on top of him and leaned her face forward until it rested against his. "Do me a favor?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she continued, "Put aside all of the worries and fears. There will be plenty of time to contemplate such things while marching to Denerim, no? For tonight, let it be about just the two of us. Please?"

By way of response, Alim shifted so that his lips found hers and lightly dragged his fingernails down her bare back to her hips, eliciting a shudder of pleasure from her. He felt like focusing entirely on her was the least he could do for his bard… his _wife_. For the one that was as devoted to him as he was her. In the end, it was surprisingly easy to set aside the worries he'd been dwelling on. And even though morning came too soon for both of them, neither would trade the night they'd had together for anything.

.

* * *

**AN: Other than 'The Stone Prisoner' that came with the game, I haven't played any of the Dragon Age DLC/expansions. So I apologize if events in 'Witch Hunt' or elsewhere contradict my idea of what Morrigan intends to do with the child born from the dark ritual. Based only on DA:O it seems like a logical enough conclusion, though admittedly I haven't heard anyone else put forth that same speculation. Flemeth was old, but it wouldn't seem unreasonable to think she could make it another 15 years or so for the child to reach a suitable age.**

**Hopefully I did a good enough job of expressing it in the chapter, but if not I want to make it clear that Leliana is just as conflicted by the decision as Alim even after agreeing that he'd participate in the ritual. The joking around she does isn't real humor on her part, it's an avoidance coping mechanism to not have to deal with the dark reality right away. And even her idea of doing the wedding immediately isn't joyful. She did want to marry Alim (at least in this story), but here it's a largely symbolic gesture - formally/publicly staking her claim to her warden so to speak. Anyway, I wanted to point that out in case anyone was thinking that Leliana seemed to abruptly move past the situation as if once she made up her mind she was no longer concerned with it. That's not the case at all.**


	19. Chapter 19

The march to the capital was a somber one. The closer the army got, the less conversation took place. Some of that was driven by fatigue, some of it by the very nature of the task ahead causing the men and women to increasingly turn to personal reflection. By the third day, little was heard beyond the sounds of armored bodies in motion, of boots pounding the road and carriages rumbling along. Even the typical sounds of wildlife for this time of year - birds in flight squawking, wolves howling in distant woods, insects chirping or buzzing - had mostly faded to an unsettling silence. That stillness only added to the growing tension among the ranks.

Arl Eamon offered carriage seating for Alim and his companions before departing Redcliffe Castle, and while most of them took advantage of the accommodations, Alim himself steadfastly refused. Even though the army he was at the head of belonged to the arl and therefore technically Alim wasn't their general, he'd been given dispensation to deploy them at Denerim as he saw fit. With that in mind, the young warden felt it was important to show that he was in this with them, that he wasn't going to ask the troops to do anything he was unwilling to do himself – including a forced march across Ferelden to reach the capital. Morale was questionable enough as it was, he thought, seeing that the mood of the soldiers departing from their families seemed far more akin to the condemned resigned to their fate than it was to anything resembling optimism.

There wasn't anything he could do about it now, but Alim wished that horses were prevalent enough in Ferelden that the army itself could have traveled by carriage instead of on foot. That way they'd be able to cover ground a lot faster and arrive at the battlefield fresh. He filed it away as a mental note to bring up to Anora if they managed to survive the Blight.

Joining the elven warden on foot were Leliana and Scorch. From the moment they'd gathered their equipment and left the room at Redcliffe Castle to join the others for the impending journey, the bard had barely let her new husband get more than a few feet away from her. While it wasn't unusual for her to stay close to him during their travels, she gave off a vibe of possessiveness that was unmistakable to their companions. None outside the couple save Morrigan knew the reason for it, however, which made for a rather tense scene when the witch and the bard initially stared each other down before Morrigan smirked knowingly and turned away. Leliana finally relaxed somewhat when the witch boarded one of the carriages, though she still wouldn't take Alim's suggestion for her to ride too instead of walk.

During a stop on the first day, Alim pulled Alistair aside and as vaguely as possible filled his fellow warden in on Morrigan's ritual. As expected, Alistair peppered him with questions while trying to pry out all of the sordid details, especially after the younger man requested that he not tell Riordan about it. Alim finally acquiesced to revealing it involved a blood magic ritual that transferred a portion of Alim's taint into a vessel that would absorb the archdemon essence in place of a Grey Warden, but he wouldn't go into the specifics of how the ritual was conducted or what the _vessel _in question was. The revelation of blood magic being involved both disgusted and surprised the former templar. He couldn't believe that his friend would condone a blood magic ritual, let alone willingly participate in one, even under the circumstances. He ended the conversation by storming off in a huff. Alim was distraught over Alistair's reaction, though he hid it well enough from everyone but Leliana, who reassured him that Alistair would come around after he'd had a chance to reflect on it and cool down. Sure enough, the following morning Alistair approached Alim and Leliana during a short break and apologized for overreacting. He still wasn't happy about it, but he understood that the decision wasn't easy or made lightly, and he couldn't say he wouldn't have made the same choice if it had been his to make. Alistair admitted being even more wary of the raven haired witch after finding out she knew about that Grey Warden secret the whole time, and warned Alim to keep an eye on her because he couldn't imagine she wasn't getting something out of the ritual herself. For his part, the elven warden managed to hide the guilt that would reveal he already knew what Morrigan was getting out of it, and simply nodded in agreement. He felt awful about keeping the truth from his best friend and fellow Grey Warden, and promised himself that if they were both still alive after this was all said and done, he'd sit down with Alistair over a few pints of ale and tell him everything.

-==0==-

The army arrived on the outskirts of Denerim as dusk was settling over the city on the third day. The setting sun painted the sky in heavenly shades of death - ominous hues of fiery orange and red illuminating the black smoke rising from the city, a visceral reminder of the Fereldan blood already shed by the darkspawn horde, and a harbinger of the bloodshed still to come.

"Amazing…" Alim whispered softly.

"What is?" Leliana asked curiously.

Glancing over to her, he smiled slightly while gesturing upwards. "The sky. We have seen many sunsets on our journey, but I've never seen anything like that. If I did not know what it represented, I would be hard pressed not to call it beautiful."

The bard blinked in surprise that his thoughts were on such seemingly trivial things even as they approached the cusp of what they expected to be the final battle. But it made her happy. She loved that even with as much death and hardship as he'd experienced since leaving the Circle Tower, he still retained some of that wide-eyed innocence that she'd fallen in love with, that let him stop and see the beauty of the Maker's world even in the midst of darkness.

When she didn't reply right away, he chuckled softly. "I look forward to reading your description of it, and for that matter a lot of other things we have seen, once this is all over with and you write out the tale of our epic struggle."

Leliana grinned. She knew this wasn't the time to say the sappy things she wanted to in response, so instead she offered a teasing, "Well, _my _tale ends happily ever after, so if it's going to be written then you'd better make sure we get that far. If you die on me you can forget me writing about it." She knew in her heart that was a lie, however. If she survived this, she'd pen his tale no matter the outcome. He was far too important to her to let his story simply fade into obscurity.

"Point taken," he replied, grinning back.

"General!" exclaimed the voice of a man rapidly approaching, drawing Alim's attention away from Leliana. Alim recognized from his appearance that he was part of the royal army. The soldier practically skidded to a stop in front of him. "We've been waiting for your arrival!" he said before quickly gesturing and adding, "The queen and Ser Cauthrien are over there, come on!"

-==0==-

The elven general strode briskly into the large tent that was currently serving as the war room for the battle. "Status?" he immediately asked, noting the grim expressions on the faces of Anora, Cauthrien, and a few men that he didn't recognize.

"Thank the Maker you've arrived!" Anora exclaimed in relief at the sight of the elf.

Alim recognized the anxiety in her tone and the way she was fidgeting with her hands, a mannerism he'd already picked up as her habit when she was nervous. He knew that lack of confidence couldn't be putting anyone else at ease either. Instantly he made the decision to attempt to lighten the mood and hopefully get her and the others to relax enough to work through the situation rationally. He grinned slightly. "Well, you know, I heard some pesky archdemon was giving you trouble, and since I was in the neighborhood and all and did not have anything else to do tonight, I figured I'd stop by and lend a sword to the cause."

When the queen reacted by simply glaring at him incredulously, he added, "I know I did not RSVP for the occasion, but I hope you do not mind that I brought a thousand or so friends with me."

"Th-this is not the time to be making jokes!" Anora snapped, scolding him.

Alim sighed gently. It was one thing to lead in times of peace, and Anora was an expert at deftly handling the responsibilities of such. But it was something entirely different to lead in times of crisis, and it was apparent that while she'd learned a lot from her father and husband, the stress of trying to command a battle was getting to her. He held up his hands in front of him, gesturing for the queen to calm down. "It is okay, I am here now. Just tell me what the situation is and we will figure out where to go from there."

Anora exhaled slowly, nodding her head slowly before looking down. "Of course, I-I am sorry."

Alim caught Cauthrien's gaze and when he glanced over she silently mouthed _"Thank you."_ He nodded his head once in response, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

As the queen started to speak, the flap of the tent opened and Eamon, Alistair, Riordan, and Leliana entered. The bard had gone to retrieve the others while Alim went with the messenger. Anora paused long enough to nod in acknowledgement at their presence, then resumed speaking. "The darkspawn horde hit us hard yesterday afternoon. It would have been even worse if your messenger had not arrived ahead of the horde, but as it stands the city gates have fallen. So, short of knocking down or scaling walls, the enemy controls access in and out of the city. It has been this way since mid-day." She leaned over the map of Denerim that covered the large table in the center of the tent. Pointing to various locations, she indicated where prior to the city gates completely falling into enemy hands, scouts had last reported the largest concentrations of darkspawn.

Cauthrien cleared her throat. "We _did _have several hundred soldiers inside the city fighting, though cut off from receiving reinforcements and greatly outnumbered I do not know how long they can hold out. We have been formulating a strategy to retake the gate. There have also been reports of a couple of darkspawn that seem to be sub-leaders of sorts to the archdemon, that other darkspawn appear to be taking direction from. For lack of anything better to call them, we're referring to them as darkspawn generals."

"As good a name as any," Riordan agreed. "And you are correct about their role. The archdemon will call them to its aid if it feels threatened."

Alim frowned. "Did the Dalish elves arrive already? What is left of the royal army out here for us to deploy?"

Cauthrien nodded. "The Dalish are here. They are not the most… _friendly_… but they have setup camp down the hill from here and await orders. The 750 we sent to Redcliffe arrived as well. We've lost half our army. So you've got roughly 2000 left of the royal army, a quarter of those being archers, along with the thousand from the arl's army and the few hundred our allies have sent."

"There are at least three times as many darkspawn out there," Riordan sighed, shaking his head.

"Would it be a good idea to take out those darkspawn generals first?" Alistair asked.

"Perhaps," Riordan answered with a shrug. "Or it could be a waste of resources that could otherwise be used elsewhere."

"Do we even have a way of finding them?" Eamon asked.

Riordan shrugged again. Pointing to the map, he said, "I can sense that the archdemon is in the Fort Drakon area, and that these generals are not nearby. Beyond that I cannot say. There are too many darkspawn out there for me to tell. Perhaps they are in these areas of reported darkspawn concentration… the market district and the alienage."

Leliana noticed Alim's eyes go distant briefly at the mention of the alienage and guessed what he was probably thinking of. She herself hoped his sister was okay, but knew it was doubtful unless she somehow managed to get out before the darkspawn attack. She realized that with everything happening so fast afterwards, she'd completely forgotten to tell Alim about talking to Neria and her being excited to come live at their estate as the housekeeping supervisor. But she pushed the thought away, knowing she needed to focus on the present.

"The market district and alienage are practically the other side of the city from Fort Drakon," Anora noted. "Unless these generals can fly like the dragon, it would take time for them to regroup in its defense."

"Assuming that's even where they are," said Eamon, pointing out the fact that they couldn't even be certain the darkspawn generals were in the two areas indicated.

"The top of Fort Drakon will be the most likely place to draw the archdemon into a fight," Riordan explained, shifting the discussion back to the archdemon. "If we can manage that and to defend the fort, it will be difficult for enemy reinforcements to join the fight."

"General?" Cauthrien asked. She was keenly aware that he was listening to the discussion while staring at the city map, but hadn't offered any input of his own.

Alim shook his head slightly. Pointing to the map he firmly stated, "We are not getting anywhere without capturing the gate, so that is the first step. Once we retake it, I will station Oghren and Shale there with our dwarven allies, along with 100 archers on top of the walls, and 500 soldiers split between the Redcliffe and royal armies. The gate _must _be held at that point." Moving his focal point on the map, he continued, "We cannot say for sure what the situation will be once we are inside, but the four bridges spanning the Drakon River could be crucial. If we can capture and hold the bridges, we effectively separate their forces between the northern and southern parts of the city. At minimum we will need to take the two bridges closest to the city gates to keep our forces there from having to fight the darkspawn on multiple fronts. Beyond that, I do not think we can say with any certainty right now."

"Do you think we should go after those darkspawn generals first, I mean, once we're inside?" Alistair asked.

"I'm inclined to send a diversionary force to at least keep them occupied, but I suspect we will need to head directly for the archdemon. The quicker we get it down, the quicker this mess will be over with. Let's see what things look like once we've secured the gates though."

"What's the plan for taking the gate?" Anora asked.

Alim rubbed his chin in thought. "My group will go in first and engage the darkspawn, draw them out."

"How many soldiers are you going to take for that initial strike?"

"None. It will just be the ten of us."

All eyes looked upon the elven warden in shock at his suggestion. "Surely you can't be serious?" Eamon exclaimed. "Ten of you against probably a thousand or more darkspawn?"

Alim pinched the bridge of his nose in visible annoyance with the arl. "I am not saying it will stay that way. We will draw. them. out. Besides, if you had traveled with us you would know that overwhelming odds are nothing new to us. Give us a five minute head start and then dispatch the full army. The gate is a natural chokepoint for defense, so it is in our best interest to pull the enemy forward into more open area. With that in mind, divide the armies such that they attack both head on and flank the enemy on both sides of the gates. I want the Circle of Magi mages to come in behind and concentrate on healing and buffing. Hold back the Dalish until we have captured the gate. It sounds counterintuitive but I think they will be more effective engaging the darkspawn inside the city where they can find cover to exploit rather than in the large open area outside."

Everyone nodded solemnly. Arl Eamon turned to the queen. "Anora, will you address the army before sending them into battle?" The queen nodded in response.

As the group was leaving the tent to gather with the waiting army, Cauthrien grabbed Alim's arm and held him back. "Alim? May I fight alongside you as part of your group?"

The elf looked up at her curiously. "What about the squad under your command?"

Cauthrien shook her head. "In order to assist the queen here, I already passed them off to one of the others to lead. But I would accompany you if you will allow it."

Alim pretended to consider the request. "Hmmm… I do not know… there might not be enough darkspawn to go around if you come too."

The beginning of an incredulous glare was forming on the knight's face when Alim broke into a grin and chuckled lightly. "Of course you are welcome to join us," he replied with a wink.

Cauthrien smirked at the general. "Let's not keep them waiting then."

-==0==-

Queen Anora climbed a rock formation, standing on this impromptu stage overlooking the combined Ferelden army. In her battle armor with her mace slung across her back, she looked more the part of the commander-in-chief than she felt at the moment. She wasn't a stranger to battle, and was more than just competent with her mace, but the small skirmishes she'd gotten into here and there exploring with Cailan were nothing like what faced them now. And even if she wasn't going to be directly taking part in the fighting, the proximity and immediacy of the battle around her was testing her nerves.

The queen's eyes flitted over the crowd in front of her. She could tell by the body language that they were afraid. The fear was palpable. She knew she needed to be strong for them, and her mind searched for the words that would provide comfort and inspiration. He eyes caught the gaze of the elven Grey Warden. She saw her general standing at rest with his hands behind his back. She noted that unlike herself, he seemed very at ease. Part of her wanted to go smack him for not being as stressed out as she was, as if his nonchalance meant he didn't understand the gravity of the situation they were in. A larger part of her, however, clung to the hope that his confidence was warranted, that he'd lead them victoriously through their darkest hour. Subconsciously she decided to use Alim as the source of inspiration for the soldiers. Taking and releasing a deep breath, she began to speak.

"Before us stands the might of the darkspawn horde! Gaze upon them now, but fear them not!" she shouted before pausing for dramatic effect.

Alim winced slightly. The queen's vocal inflection was way off. The words she spoke were strong, but her tone diminished their impact by giving away the anxiety she felt. It was as if she was trying to convince herself as much as she was the rest of them.

Pointing to Alim, Anora continued, "Your general is a native of Ferelden, an elf of humble beginnings risen to the ranks of the Grey Wardens. He is proof that glory is within reach of us all! He has survived despite the odds, and without him none of us would be here!"

"Maker, make it stop…" Alim muttered loud enough for his friends standing close to him to hear. Leliana, Alistair, and Zev giggled and chuckled at his uncomfortable reaction to being singled out.

"Today, we save Denerim!" Anora exclaimed. "Today, we avenge the death of your King Cailan!"

"_We already avenged his death by killing Loghain,"_ Alistair cynically thought to himself.

The queen waved her hand towards the wardens. "But most of all, today, we will show the Grey Wardens that we remember and honor their sacrifice! We will rally behind them with everything we have! For Ferelden!"

While cheers burst out from the ranks, Alim turned and whispered to Leliana, "I know her heart is in the right place, but that was horrible. I suppose-"

"General Alim!" Anora shouted, interrupting the elf's commentary to his bard. He looked back to see her waving for him to come up to join her. "Come, address the troops and send them into battle!"

The elven warden's expression turned horrified. "Wh-what?" he whispered hoarsely.

Leliana giggled. "I suppose _you_ can show the queen how a speech is done, yes?" she teased, giving him a slight shove in the back to get him moving.

He groaned softly. "Can you shoot me in the back with an arrow to get me out of it?" he asked with mock hopefulness. When she grinned wickedly and shook her head, he reluctantly began to move up the hill to join the queen.

-==0==-

"_Maker, forgive me. I take back what I said about her speech,"_ Alim thought as he peered out on the sea of people staring back at him. He didn't know what to say. In his mind he recalled a phrase he'd once used flippantly with Leliana, _"Better to be sincere than eloquent."_

"_No worries about eloquence," _he answered himself. _"Well, here goes nothing…"_

Clearing his throat, Alim began, "I am no bard, so you will have to forgive me if my words are not ones for the history books." He smirked slightly at the bemused reactions he could see. "Truthfully, I'd feel better about my chances fighting the archdemon naked and armed only with a butter knife than I do about coming up with something rousing to say."

"Now _that _is an inspiring visual," Alistair shouted, drawing laughter all around him.

Alim blushed slightly before regaining his composure. "Probably about as frightening as the darkspawn themselves," he called back. "_Friends_," he explained to the crowd, motioning with his hand towards his companions. Suddenly it occurred to him.

"Friends and family… is that not why we are really here? I mean, when the queen shouts, 'For Ferelden', that is what is meant. _We_ are Ferelden. We _all _have a stake in this, no matter what part of the country we are from. We fight to protect our loved ones, and fight to protect our neighbor's loved ones just as they fight to protect ours. Take a good hard look at the people around you. Whether or not you know them personally, they are counting on you. We are all counting on each and every one of you."

The elf took just a moment to let that sink in before continuing. "Queen Anora graciously pointed out my success as proof that any of you can achieve it as well. I will take that one step further. Whatever I have become, I did not do it alone."

His voice began to rise in pitch and his cadence picked up. "_I _would not be here without the help of my friends all along the way. _We _have survived seemingly impossible odds time and time again because we look out for each other even more than we look out for ourselves. We fight with a power that far exceeds our numbers because we do so together! And that is what each and every one of you must do tonight! Do so and it will be _our_ victory we celebrate! A victory that belongs to _all _of us!"

The crowd erupted in a roar, an audible decree of solidarity. Alim nodded to the queen and then jumped down to go rejoin his friends and depart for battle.

Cauthrien turned to Leliana and asked, "Is he always so calm and confident?"

The bard laughed. "If you only knew…" she replied cryptically. When Cauthrien flashed an inquisitive expression, Leliana briefly explained, "He struggles mightily to believe in himself."

"Hmmm…. It doesn't show."

"He _is _confident we'll win, but the source of that is belief in others, not himself. Some leaders believe in no one but themselves, or at least believe in themselves more than anyone else. That's not Alim. Every now and then he'll get upset and pop off about how he's going to do this or that, making in sound like if anything he's too confident in his own abilities, but in general he greatly underestimates his own strength… and truthfully, overestimates ours."

Cauthrien nodded in response, cutting off the conversation due to Alim getting within earshot. As Alim approached, he shrugged sheepishly at his waiting companions.

"Naked with a butter knife? Really?" Alistair asked in amusement.

"Your speeches need some work, my friend," Zev added, grinning ear to ear.

Alim scowled playfully before grinning. "Yes, well, hopefully I will not have many more opportunities to practice them. Let's go guys."

-==0==-

The fading daylight created an almost eerie glow as the group of eleven descended through the sparse tree line of the wooded hill leading down to Denerim's city gates. From this vantage point, the group could make out what appeared to be several hundred darkspawn in the area immediately inside the gate as they quietly approached.

"Alim? What attack strategy will we use?" Cauthrien asked. Being her first time fighting with them, she wasn't sure what to expect.

As they continued to move into position, the elven warden gave her a quick rundown on each of his companions and how the group generally worked to complement each other in a battle. At the end, he added, "Obviously things get a bit chaotic once the fighting starts, but I absolutely meant what I said back there about looking out for each other more than ourselves. You are with us now. We all have each other's backs."

Cauthrien nodded firmly. "I won't let you guys down."

Alim gestured for everyone to stop, smirking slightly at the sight of the darkspawn milling about inside the gates, not really paying attention to what was going on outside. There didn't even appear to be any outside of the gates. _"They probably expect a large army to approach noisily,"_ he thought.

Thinking it over, the elven warden motioned for his companions to gather around. "I am going to sneak in close enough to dump an _inferno_ inside the gates. I will hightail it out of there as soon as that is done, so once you see me light up the sky, Morrigan, start a _blizzard_ a little bit back of the gate, then add a _tempest _on top. Hopefully I will be back out of range before you kill me with the storm."

Morrigan smirked at the warden, but didn't reply. She realized that she actually hadn't said a single word to him since he left her room following the ritual, and that these were the first words he'd directed at her specifically since then. She wondered briefly what she would say to him when the time came to part ways, but then pushed that thought out of her mind almost as fast as it came up.

-==0==-

After concluding a short silent prayer to the Maker, Alim turned loose a _grease _spell from his hiding spot that landed just inside the gates. A few dozen of the tightly clustered darkspawn fell over each other, and before they could extract themselves from each other the little mage ignited the grease with an _inferno_ that set the area ablaze. He couldn't resist throwing in a _fireball_ for good measure, and was about to step forward and continue casting when the felt the air around him rapidly cooling. That triggered his memory that he'd told Morrigan to start casting once she saw his fire. He turned and scrambled to get back before he either froze or got caught in the bigger storm when she added the tempest.

Running on uneven ground in the dark, the elf had barely gotten started when he caught his foot on an exposed tree root and fell, wrenching his knee badly in the process. Dragging himself to his feet, he took another step, only to have his knee buckle and give out. He grunted in pain as he clutched his knee. Through chattering teeth from the cold of Morrigan's _blizzard_ he tried to cast a _heal_ spell, but it fizzled out. Beginning to panic at not being able to put any weight on his right leg and knowing that time was running out, he started trying to half crawl, half hop on one foot back towards the others. After falling again he finally remembered the poultices in his pack. He grabbed a greater health poultice and guzzled it down, then quickly dragged himself off the ground and tested his leg. Satisfied that it was good enough, he took off running again. The elf thought he was going to make it when suddenly he felt a huge shock course through him and he collapsed again in agony. He felt like he was being sapped and quickly lost the strength to continue pulling himself forward. The irony of the situation dawned on him, that the seemingly throwaway sarcastic line he'd issued to Morrigan was actually going to be his fate. His eyes fluttered closed and he felt himself fading. Alim struggled to hold on to consciousness. After what seemed like a longer time than it probably was, he suddenly felt like his body was rising from the ground, the sensation of floating away coming over him. He then stopped fighting the overwhelming urge to sleep and let the darkness take him.

-==0==-

"Where is he?" Leliana hissed impatiently. Even though it had only been a minute since they saw Alim's fire flare against the darkened sky, Morrigan's storm was raging behind Alim's and there had been no sign of him. It shouldn't have taken him that long to return to the group.

"Do you think he stayed ahead and is engaging the darkspawn there?" Cauthrien asked.

"No," Sten replied firmly.

Alistair agreed. "He wouldn't change the plan like that without telling anyone. Something went wrong."

"We have to go after him!" Leliana exclaimed.

Morrigan shook her head. "You can circle around the edge of the storm, but if he's inside it…" She trailed off, the implication was clear.

Shale heaved a sigh. "Fleshy creatures… fragile little things. It appears to fall upon me to save it." The stone golem activated her _stoneheart_ and _regenerating burst_ talents, greatly increasing her elemental resistance and stamina recovery.

"Darkspawn!" Oghren shouted, gesturing with his battleaxe towards a small pack of hurlocks emerging from the storm while already moving to meet them.

"Shale, find Alim!" Alistair barked. "Everyone else, attack!"

-==0==-

Not many darkspawn were getting through initially, but they were coming with enough frequency to keep the group occupied. Alistair, Sten, Oghren, and Cauthrien formed a wall of defense between the darkspawn lines and the others. Wynne began casting support spells on them, while Morrigan cast _frost weapons_ on their companions' weapons and then alternated between ranged attacks from her staff and entropy spells such as _horror_, _miasma_, and _waking nightmare_ to weaken and disorient their enemies, mixing in the occasional _chain lightning _and _winter's grasp_ as well. Zevran and Leliana moved to the side and supported the melee fighters with their bows. Scorch held the ground twenty feet in front of them, working diligently to take out or at least slow down charging darkspawn long enough for the archers to pick them off.

The combined damage of having to charge through Alim's grease fire followed by the crackling storm created by Morrigan's _blizzard _and _tempest _combination was rapidly thinning out the darkspawn advance, enabling the wardens' group to hold their own until the bulk of the Ferelden army arrived minutes later.

Wynne caught a glimpse of Shale out of the corner of her eye. Turning her attention to the approaching golem, she frowned at the sight of Alim's limp body cradled in one of her arms. The senior enchanter ran over to where the golem laid the warden down on the ground.

"It has expired," Shale stated, her tone wistful.

Nodding slowly, Wynne replied, "Thank you for retrieving him. Go help the others, I will see what I can do."

-==0==-

The darkspawn resistance increased as the area spells cast by Alim and Morrigan elapsed. Fortunately, the timing roughly coincided with the arrival of the rest of the army, which flowed around them and continued advancing to form a pocket of containment around the immediate area in front of the gates. From there the army methodically collapsed the pocket, driving the surviving darkspawn back inside the gates.

With the darkspawn charge halted at least temporarily, Leliana spun around, her eyes frantically searching the dark for a glimpse of her warden. Not finding him, she ran back to where the others were finishing up with a wave of hurlocks and genlocks.

"Shale!" she yelled as soon as the golem was free of any threats. "What of Alim?"

"With the elder mage," Shale replied. She gestured in the direction she'd left them before softly adding, "It… is dead."

The bard's mouth fell open at the revelation, but she was unable to produce any sound. The others expressed varying degrees of disbelief, and almost immediately Leliana and Alistair turned and sprinted towards where Wynne was said to be.

Cauthrien debated going after them before the professional soldier in her finally made the decision to stay and continue fighting alongside Sten, Oghren, and Shale. There wasn't anything she could do to help the fallen general, but she could help by felling darkspawn. She glanced at the others. "Take the gate?" she asked, phrasing it as a suggestive question rather than a command so not to offend.

The other three nodded in response. Refocusing on the task at hand, they found Morrigan, Zevran, and Scorch, and determinedly marched towards the gates.

The witch glowered at Shale's revelation of why the others weren't with them, the anger directed at herself for casting the spells even though she couldn't have known, at the elven warden for allowing himself to get caught in them, and at the situation in general. As they walked, she got even more frustrated with herself for letting her concentration repeatedly lapse into thoughts about him and all they'd been through together.

Zevran was dismayed, but like the others he was committed to seeing this through even with Alim gone. Unlike Morrigan, his thoughts were mainly of Alistair and Leliana, knowing that they'd be joining the battle soon enough and hoping that grieving for Alim wouldn't be a fatal distraction for them.

Sten showed no outward reaction, but inwardly he was disappointed. On the one hand, the little warden had survived much longer than he thought he would at the beginning of their journey together. On the other hand, dying at the hands of the witch was not a fitting end for such a warrior. He'd honor the little one, however, by doing everything he could to slay the archdemon on his behalf.

Oghren snarled at himself for being soft, realizing that he actually felt sad about the sodding knife eared warden. He tried to make himself feel better by telling himself he'd offer some _comfort_ to the bard after the battle was over, but he didn't find the humor in it he expected to and only felt even more depressed. He pulled a flask of his special brew from his pack and started downing it while walking. _"It's gonna be a sodding long night…"_ he thought grimly.

.

* * *

**AN: I'm "breaking" the death gameplay mechanic somewhat for story purposes. Obviously in the game party members can die and be brought back with revival spells or they just pop back up after a battle, where only enemies suffer from permanent death. The approach I'm taking here is that up to this point, they might have gotten seriously hurt or had near death experiences in battle, but none had actually "died" before now, so their _expectation_ is that death = death and not death = temporary unavailability. **


	20. Chapter 20

Within the darkness, Alim suddenly felt what amounted to a tiny pinprick on his consciousness followed by a voice that sounded as if it was simultaneously coming from both everywhere and nowhere. The voice was speaking in slurred slow motion and he couldn't make out the words. In his mind his eyes were open, but he couldn't see anything other than a sea of black without even the hint of shadows to provide context. It was nothingness. He tried again to concentrate on the voice, the only sense of awareness he had. But it was maddening. He could sense urgency in the tone, but the words lacked coherency, like trying to talk while underwater.

In the midst of his struggle that was burgeoning into panic, Alim started to become aware of the sensation of pain. It began as little more than a whisper. Slowly it gained momentum until the whisper became a breeze and then the rush of a gale. And just when he thought the whirlwind of pain would consume him, light briefly flooded his vision and the voice sharply penetrated his mind, punching through the veil he was behind. He mentally leapt at it, as if the voice was a physical, tangible thing he could latch on to. Whether he caught it or it caught him, he felt himself being ripped forward. And when the light seemingly exploded in his eyes, his vision cleared and he found himself staring up at the motherly countenance of the old Circle mage hovering over him.

"W-wynne…" he coughed. His mouth and throat felt parched, as if he hadn't had a drink in days.

The spirit healer's tense expression softened visibly in relief. She sighed wearily. "That was far too close for comfort, child."

The elf saw in her eyes a fatigue that went beyond the physical. He noticed the perspiration beading on her forehead. She looked pale. Reacting instinctively, he slipped a glove off and wiped her brow with the back of his hand. That's when he noticed how warm she felt, feverish. "A-are you okay?" he asked. "You do not look well."

Wynne chuckled softly. "Says the man who was dead a moment ago."

"D-dead?" he gulped. Wynne closed her eyes briefly and nodded. Alim searched her eyes, and then he gulped again. "Did you… call upon the spirit inside you to save me?"

"Yes, child. My _revival_ spell was not strong enough on its own."

"B-but… y-you said doing that weakens the spirit, shortening your life even further?"

Wynne nodded solemnly. "I am… tired. I fear I will not be of any further use to you in the battle tonight."

Alim groaned in frustration with himself for putting her in this position. "I am sorry, Wynne. I am sorry…"

"For what?" she asked pointedly. "Do you think you are the only one who is allowed to sacrifice for a friend?"

The elven warden opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything the tear streaked face of his wife came into view. "A-alim, no!" she choked out in a strangled voice. Leliana could see him lying flat on his back with Wynne hunched over him, but she didn't see right away that his eyes were open. She had already started to collapse at his side when he turned his head enough to catch the anguish in her eyes.

The bard's expression quickly turned to confusion. "Sh-shale said you were d-dead," she croaked. Alim's eyes shifted to see Alistair now standing behind Leliana, appearing somber and equally confused.

"He was…" Wynne replied on the elf's behalf. "Fortunately this old woman still has some magic left in her bones."

Leliana looked at Wynne in stunned disbelief before practically tackling the older woman in a hug. "Thank you so much, Wynne," she whispered earnestly.

"I-I am sorry, guys…" Alim offered weakly. "I fell and injured my leg running, and by the time I could heal I got caught in Morrigan's spells."

"How are you now?" Alistair asked, exhaling slowly in relief. "You up to fighting darkspawn?"

Alim slowly sat up, reaching out for Alistair's hand. After the human warden helped pull him to his feet, Alim paused momentarily before replying, "I think I am good. I am ready to get back to the battle. Wynne, however, is not. She expended a lot of herself to bring me back, more than just a mage's mana. She is done for the night." Turning to his fellow mage, he softly said, "I cannot thank you enough, Wynne. Come, I will escort you back to the queen's tent. She will not refuse me and you can rest comfortably there."

Wynne waved her hand tiredly. "There won't be any darkspawn between here and there. I can make it by myself. Go, join the others and get to the archdemon. Just… don't die again… I won't be there to fix you next time."

The elf nodded contritely. "Yes, ma'am." He hugged the old spirit healer and thanked her again before sending her on her way back up the hill. Once she was out of sight, he turned to Alistair and Leliana. "Sorry for the scare."

"Admit it, you just wanted to see me cry," Alistair replied, flashing a grin that didn't really cover the relief he felt at seeing his friend okay.

"It's done with," Leliana said with a sigh, her tone expressing both relief and concern. "Is your head back in the game? Because it's going to get really dangerous really fast and I need to know that you're ready for it."

Alim recast his _arcane shield _and _spell wisp_ buffs, and then nodded. "Let's do it."

-==0==-

The armies of Ferelden had managed to drive the darkspawn back inside the city gates and were working to advance even further into the city. Divisions of them split off at Cauthrien's command, who per Alim's suggested strategy before the battle sent a quarter of the troops towards the market district and alienage to occupy the darkspawn generals, a quarter towards the bridges spanning the Drakon River, another quarter south to clear the way towards Fort Drakon before veering towards the Royal Palace and the deeper south in the city, while holding back the last quarter to clean up the remaining darkspawn around the city gates and immediately surrounding area. She, Oghren, Sten, and Shale managed to stay in relatively close proximity during the fighting, while Zevran freelanced all over the battlefield.

Scorch stayed close to Morrigan, protecting the mage as she quietly moved away from the others and south towards Fort Drakon. After entering the battle inside the city gates, the witch made the decision that with the only person she cared about dead, she wasn't going to stick her neck out any more than she had to. She took the hound, the only other living thing she had a fondness for, and the pair carefully made their way in the direction of where the battle with the archdemon would likely be. At this point, all she cared about was being close by when _anyone_ slayed the beast so she could capture the Old God essence within it.

-==0==-

Oghren was trying to wrench his heavy axe out of the chest of the genlock grunt he'd just killed when he caught sight of an approaching hurlock winding up to chop at him with its saw sword. He grunted and braced for impact, only to at the last minute see the flash of a blade over his head decapitate the foe. With one last twist he pulled his axe free of his dead enemy, then spun around to see the source of the sword that saved him an injury.

"Huh… I guess the little nug humper knew what he was doing after all, keeping you alive," the dwarf remarked with a chuckle.

Cauthrien, having no idea what he was talking about, stared at him quizzically for a moment before shaking her head and turning her attention elsewhere.

-==0==-

Alim sidestepped a wild chop from a hurlock alpha before slashing back with _Spellweaver_ in response. A genlock came in swiftly from his left to join the attack against the elf. Alim spun away from the genlock's dagger stab, dancing right to left to pin the smaller darkspawn in front of the beefier hurlock. The warden deflected away another stab attempt with _Vigilance,_ which he held in his left hand in an ice pick grip for defense, then countered with his own chop that clanged hard off the genlock's shield and knocked it off balance and back into the hurlock. The hurlock roughly shoved the stumbling genlock out of the way so it could get to the elf. It raised its sword, but before it could bring it to bear, a pair of arrows slammed into its chest to halt the attack. Alim shuffled away again, positioning himself so that the genlock once again was in the hurlock's way. He parried another attack from the genlock and was about to counter when the enraged hurlock split the genlock's head open like a melon with a vicious forehand strike from behind. It then kicked the now dead ally aside before it even had completely fallen.

The elven arcane warrior quickly responded with a _flame blast_ that torched the hurlock alpha and made it take a couple of steps back as it batted at itself trying to put the fire out. A few more arrows hit the darkspawn warrior, but it bellowed and charged the little elf again. Alim dropped _Vigilance _in order to put a two-handed grip on his longsword, and timing his attack he spun and leveraged the centrifugal force to swing _Spellweaver_ in a hard, tight arc that caught the advancing hurlock in the throat. He took the spray of blood in stride as the hurlock fell dead in a heap at his feet, its head barely still attached to its body.

The warden picked up his dagger and then turned to survey the area for additional threats. What caught his attention, however, was the Antivan elf jogging up to him with longbow in hand.

"I see the rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated," Zev said with a slight grin.

Alim shrugged sheepishly. "Well, you know, I've had this date with the archdemon planned for just about forever now. It would have been in such poor taste for me cancel at this point."

Zev laughed. "Did our dear Wynne let you rest your head on her magical bosom? I will be quite jealous if she did."

"Her… what?" the warden asked in confusion.

Laughing again, Zev shook his head. "Too long a story I think, what with all these darkspawn waiting patiently on us to kill them."

"Fair enough. It looks like we have gotten most of them cleared out of this area. Let's finish up and then regroup with the others."

-==0==-

Sten knocked one genlock aside with a pommel strike from his greatsword, then spun and whipped _Asala_ in a slicing attack that cleaved another genlock in half. Continuing forward, he delivered a snap kick to knock yet another charging genlock back, and used the separation to thrust his blade and impale the off balance darkspawn. He then reached out and grasped the crown of the head of the first genlock in his large hand, and with a short, violent twist, snapped its neck. He ran to assist Shale with the dozen or so enemies that she was engaged with, but before he got there one of the hurlocks exploded and took out most of its allies with it. Shale easily mopped up the few remaining wounded.

Sten stopped and his eyes narrowed at the sight. He only knew of one cause of foes simply exploding. Ordinarily he wouldn't let himself get distracted from the business at hand and would simply keep fighting, but this time he had to satisfy his curiosity, to put the lingering question to rest. Moving across the battlefield dimly lit by moonlight and a few fires yet to be extinguished, the Qunari continued to cut down any darkspawn in his path. He finally spied the other Grey Warden and the bard, but didn't see the little warden. He turned in their direction, his eyes continually scanning for threats as he stalked towards them. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a flare of light illuminating the area to the right of him, and turned his head just in time to see a fireball engulf and wipe out a quartet of genlock archers. The vapor trail faded almost as quickly as it had appeared, but Sten's eyes were sharp enough to instantly trace the direction of its source. He took off running towards it.

-==0==-

Alim and Zev were standing back to back, the pair fighting what started off as six darkspawn that had surrounded them, but was now down to four. It was purely defensive fighting, deflecting or parrying incoming attacks and only countering if a clear opening was there to take. It made for a tedious battle, but Alim didn't have time to down a lyrium potion and it was keeping them on their feet against the superior numbers.

The arrival of the Qunari warrior more than equalized the situation. With a wide swing of his greatsword he cut down both of the Antivan elf's foes from behind, enabling Zev to spin and backstab one of Alim's opponents. The elven warden switched to the offensive against the remaining genlock grunt, and after deflecting aside a strike from its mace, he ran the darkspawn through with his sword. He kicked the genlock back to aid the process of ripping his blade back out, and was about to take off in pursuit of another group of darkspawn when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Kadan," Sten muttered, shaking his head as if in disbelief. "I'd heard you were dead."

Alim grinned slightly. "Death was but a minor setback."

"Apparently."

The elven warden waved his hand. "I will explain later, let's finish up here first."

A wry smile formed on the Qunari's face at the little warden's suggestion that they stop wasting time. He nodded in agreement and the three took off to engage more darkspawn.

-==0==-

"By the stone! You're supposed to be dead!" Oghren exclaimed at the elven Grey Warden. Alim, Zevran, and Sten had just helped the dwarf and Cauthrien dispatch what appeared to be the last of the darkspawn in the city gates area. The forces held back to retake the gate were already regrouping and repositioning per Cauthrien's earlier directive, preparing to entrench themselves in defense.

Alim smirked slightly. "I'd make a joke about merely being a summoned undead, but I suspect you would take me seriously and cut me down."

Shale rejoined the group, with Alistair and Leliana arriving moments later. Alim was aware that all eyes were on him. "I will explain what happened just as soon as everyone is back."

"We are still missing Wynne, Morrigan, and Scorch," Zev noted.

Alistair shook his head. "Wynne is back at camp with the queen. She won't be with us tonight."

"Did something happen to the queen?" Cauthrien asked worriedly. Alim, Leliana, and Alistair all shook their heads, but didn't elaborate.

"Anyone see the other two? I lost track of them soon after the fighting started," Zev admitted. Everyone shook their heads.

Riordan came jogging up at that moment. "This area is secured. I would suggest you and Alistair depart for Fort Drakon as soon as possible."

"I already deployed the armies per your previous suggestions," Cauthrien added. "We have ample coverage in the northern part of the city and have hopefully cut off darkspawn access to the bridges by now."

Alim nodded appreciatively. "Thank you. We will try to find Morrigan and Scorch first, then after that we will proceed to Fort Drakon."

Riordan didn't recognize the names the elf mentioned, but he thought they might be his other companions. "I saw your dog and the black haired mage moving south in the direction of Fort Drakon earlier. You might be able to catch up with them before they get there."

Alim frowned. He suspected Morrigan was attempting to get closer to the archdemon before it was destroyed, but he didn't know why she'd abandon the rest of them like that. He then reminded himself that she really was in this only for herself. He wondered though why Scorch went with her instead of staying with the others.

"Alim?" Riordan asked when the younger man didn't respond right away.

"Huh? Oh, sorry… was thinking. Anyway, yes, we will meet you there."

After the older Grey Warden nodded and took off, Alim turned to his companions. "I will explain this now since I am going to have Oghren and Shale stay here. Oghren, you are in command of the forces here. I trust you guys not to let the gates fall again. Send messengers to myself and the queen if the status here changes." Glancing around, he sighed gently. "So… here is the short version… I fell and injured my leg and could not escape Morrigan's storm in time, and I died in it. Wynne called upon the power of that benevolent spirit inside her bring me back, but the process was very demanding and she requires time to recover. Simply taking lyrium will not do it. Questions?"

"Are you, you know, yourself?" Alistair asked. "You don't have some spirit sustaining your life too now do you?"

"As far as I know, I am the same as I was before, for better or for worse. I do not feel any different anyway."

When no one else spoke up, Alim softly said, "Oghren, Shale… if something _does_ happen again… I just want you guys to know it has been an honor to fight alongside you all this time. I owe much to both of you."

In a sarcastic tone that didn't really hide her concern for the little mage, Shale replied, "Yes, well, try not to die again. At least if you do, don't get swallowed whole by the archdemon. If the beast were to fly about afterwards and poop it out, irony would dictate it land on me. I couldn't take it."

Alim laughed along with the others. "I will do my best. And if I happen to see any pigeons along the way, I will be sure to zap them for you."

"I knew there was a reason I liked it. But don't tell anyone, you squishy creatures might start getting the wrong idea, thinking you aren't all completely hopeless."

Oghren cleared his throat. "Honor? Huh… No one has looked at me and seen honor in a long time, Warden. You took in a drunken disgrace of an Orzammar warrior and gave me a reason to fight and the will to go on. I owe you even more, and if it comes to it, well… it'll be a fine honor to die for your cause. So show those sodding darkspawn your heart, Warden, and then show them theirs!"

Chuckling, Alim nodded. "You too, Oghren." He then motioned for the group to head towards Fort Drakon.

-==0==-

Not long after crossing the Drakon River, the party reached the main road traversing the southern part of Denerim. As they moved in the direction of Fort Drakon, Alistair asked, "Hey, Alim, isn't your estate around here somewhere?"

"Estate?" asked Zev curiously. "Have you been holding out on us, my friend?"

Alim grinned slightly. "A surprise gift from the queen the day after the Landsmeet," he explained. "Truthfully, I have not even been to it yet. I know it is close by, but I cannot say which one it is."

Cauthrien cleared her throat lightly. When the others looked at her, she gestured with her sword and quietly said, "That one… I'm sorry."

Once his eyes fell upon the location Cauthrien pointed out, Alim's grin quickly became a scowl. "That… that is so… unfair!" he exclaimed. His new estate was one of a number in the area being ravaged by fires.

"I'm guessing we won't be having the victory party at your place now," Zev quipped playfully.

"If Morrigan was here I would have her cast a _blizzard_ to put out the fire," Alim grumbled.

Leliana shook her head slightly. She wasn't happy about it either, but much bigger things were still at stake. "Come, let's keep going. It's just a house, and far worse than that will be lost if we don't get the archdemon down."

-==0==-

Spinning in a whirlwind attack, Leliana slashed hard with both of her daggers. One of them caught the side of the hurlock she was fighting, while the other slashed its throat. The darkspawn gurgled, briefly grasping at its throat before falling into the throes of death. Surveying the battlefield, the bard saw no other threats and that her companions were regrouping. Sheathing her daggers, she trotted over to join them.

Wiping her greatsword down, Cauthrien glanced up at the Orlesian girl and shook her head. "How do you possibly do that while fighting at the same time?"

"Do what?" Leliana asked in confusion.

"Sing! I've never seen anyone fight like that. You just belt out these songs merrily as you please, and don't seem to even miss any notes even while engaged with enemies."

Alim, Alistair, and Zevran laughed, while Sten just stared knowingly. He'd thought the same thing the first few times he'd fought with this group. Leliana grinned. "You've never been in battle with a bard present, I see," she stated. Cauthrien shook her head again.

"Does it bother you?" Leliana asked.

"No, not at all. I find it rather… _inspirational_, to be honest. Just unusual, to say the least."

Alim chuckled. "That is good, otherwise I would have had to send you back," he teased before continuing, "I am so used to her singing that I hear it in my head even when she stops. Her songs are the accompaniment to my life."

Leliana started to say something sarcastic in reply, but caught herself when she suddenly realized his last statement was completely sincere. Even though he didn't put a lot of thought behind the words he threw out there, the simple factual way he pleasantly stated it tugged at her heart. She paused, for one of the rare times she couldn't find the right words to say.

"Uh oh…" Alistair began. "Judging from the way she's looking at him, unless we want to see these two go at it like a couple of nugs, we'd better get moving," he joked, causing Zev to laugh and Alim to blush. Cauthrien smirked slightly, while Sten merely waited.

"Alistair!" Leliana chided half-heartedly, making Zev laugh harder and Alistair to join in on the laughter.

Sten shook his head at the antics. "Wasting time," he groused.

"Yes, what the big guy said," Alim agreed quickly. "Let's go."

-==0==-

"The resistance has been surprisingly light," Zev commented as the group approached the large fortress in the southwest corner of the city.

"Hey!" Alistair exclaimed. "Don't say that out loud, you'll jinx it!"

Leliana laughed. "You think him saying that will suddenly make more darkspawn appear, yes?"

"Yeah, and it will probably be those big, ugly ogres too," Alistair grumbled.

Alim grinned. "Maybe I can animate another one and this time not have it attacked by… ummm… nevermind…" Seeing an expression of disapproval forming on his bard's face, he trailed off without completing his thought and continued walking.

Cauthrien didn't speak up, but she wouldn't have called the fighting they'd done to get to the fort _light_. She wasn't at all squeamish, but all of them were covered practically from head to toe in darkspawn blood at this point. And she was tiring from the amount of swinging her large _Summer Sword_ she'd already done. She estimated that it had been between two and three hours since they hit the gates.

She thought to herself how fighting alongside Alim and his companions had already been an eye opening experience unlike anything she'd been through previously. That they could engage in lighthearted, playful banter one moment and then become ruthlessly efficient killing machines the next was simply amazing to her. It was like flipping on a switch, and then once the fighting was over they flipped it off and went right back to being an easy going group of friends as if nothing happened. Cauthrien had thought that the elite forces she commanded, _Maric's Shield_, were the best of the best, but being in the elven general's group had already made her reevaluate that. She also now understood why Alim didn't think twice about having his small group work independently of the rest of the army. It was unfathomable to her how potent they were both individually and as a unit. Not a one of them had failed to impress her with their combat prowess. And they were all so unassuming about their skills, it seemed like there was none of the cockiness or one-upmanship that she was accustomed to with her own squad. Loghain was the most powerful warrior she'd ever seen, but now she beginning to suspect that any of Alim's group could have found a way to defeat him in the Landsmeet duel. It was a startling realization for the knight, and she would have started to question her own success in capturing the Grey Warden if not for the loud gasp let out by Leliana at just that moment.

-==0==-

The group looked up to the sky to see the source of Leliana's shock. They saw the archdemon in flight, twisting and turning as if in a struggle. Moments later they realized the cause of it.

"Riordan!" Alistair exclaimed.

The elder Grey Warden had managed to get on the archdemon's back and was engaged in a dangerous game of trying to hack at it with his longsword while simultaneously trying to keep from being thrown off. The dragon soared and dove, flying more erratically with every stab of the warden's blade. Alim and company stared at the scene unfolding above them, their expressions mixed of disbelief, horror, and morbid fascination.

Riordan plunged his sword deep into the back of the archdemon, which banked hard as it tried to shake its parasite. The sudden movement caused the warden to lose the grip his free hand had. He maintained the grip on his sword, however, and seized hold of it with both hands as he tried to regain his balance. The warden's weight hanging from the hilt unintentionally provided enough leverage to tear the razor sharp blade in a jagged line through the dragon's flesh. The archdemon shrieked painfully, spitting out blue flame while drawing its wings into itself and tilting back almost completely vertical to the ground several hundred feet below. Its momentum slowed until it began to freefall, and the resulting position left Riordan with nothing to hang on to when his sword tore through the hide of the dragon's back and then one of its wings before coming loose.

The archdemon managed to recover its flight enough to glide down and land awkwardly atop Fort Drakon. Riordan, not being gifted with wings like the dragon, wasn't so fortunate. He tumbled helplessly from the sky at an ever increasing velocity until the impact with the road below instantly claimed his life. Alim and Alistair didn't actually see the impact, but they didn't need to in order to know the result. Riordan was dead.

Alim scowled in frustration. He knew the older man had tried to seize a chance to take out the archdemon, but it seemed incredibly stupid to him to try to fight the beast in flight. He shook his head, huffing slightly, looking like he wanted to say something snide about what a waste it was for Riordan to throw his life away like that.

Leliana leaned over and only loud enough for him to hear whispered, "Do not speak ill of the dead." Alim opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it closed without saying anything. He simply sighed and resumed marching into the courtyard of the fortress. _"Morrigan's ritual better work…"_

-==0==-

They entered the courtyard to find the darkspawn amassed there taking on a large contingent of soldiers from the royal army backed by a couple of dozen mages from the Circle of Magi. Taking inventory of the situation, Alim identified three ogres as the biggest threat. Two of them appeared to be even larger and more ferocious looking than the typical ogres they'd seen in the past. He guessed that these were alpha equivalents, similar to how the hurlock alphas they'd encountered many times were much more powerful than the typical hurlock.

"Let's get those ogres down!" the elven warden exclaimed to his companions. He rushed into the fray, weaving through the crowds, avoiding allies and enemies alike while making his way into spellcasting range of the closest ogre alpha.

Alim slammed on the breaks and threw a _virulent walking bomb_ spell at the alpha, following it up with a _stinging swarm_ to add to the steady ongoing damage his magic would inflict. He fired an arcane bolt that slammed into the side of the ogre and finally drew its attention. It roared and ran at him, accelerating in an attempt to ram the elf. Alim dove out of the way at the last minute, rolling to his feet and casting _death siphon _to start absorbing mana from those already fallen in battle around him.

Sten finally reached the little warden. His larger size and slower foot speed had forced him to take on a few enemies on the way that the elf had managed to avoid. When the ogre turned back around from its previous charge and took a swipe at the arcane warrior, Sten countered with a massive uppercut swing from _Asala_ that caught the darkspawn's extended arm just below the wrist and severed its clawed hand clean off. The ogre roared in pain, waving the bloody stump angrily.

Leliana started burying arrows into the ogre's back in rapid fire succession, trying to distract the beast from her warden, who was hacking at its knees with his sword while trying to avoid being hit. The ogre spun around, but after taking a slash in its good arm from the Qunari warrior, it suddenly charged and rammed Sten, knocking him violently to the ground. The ogre raised his heavy foot and stomped on the disoriented warrior, and only his massive juggernaut armor saved him from being crushed outright from the assault. It raised its foot again for another stomp, and brought it down even harder than the first time, determined to end the life of the one that took a limb from it. This time, however, the foot hit the invisible force of the _force field _spell Alim had hurriedly cast on his friend.

The ogre roared angrily at not succeeding in its attack, and became single-minded in its focus on the Qunari. It repeatedly attempted to squash Sten, who couldn't move from Alim's spell but couldn't be harmed either. Knowing Sten was safe for the moment, Alim backed away far enough to keep from being hit by his own spell while using hand signals to get Leliana to do the same. Alim then unloaded a _fireball_ that slammed into the side of the ogre that had been weakened from previous magic and physical attacks. The explosion finished off the ogre, which then detonated from the earlier _virulent walking bomb_ spell. The spray caught a few genlocks and hurlocks that were engaged with the royal forces, though it didn't take any of them out immediately.

Alim and Leliana ran over and stood alert by Sten until Alim's spell wore off, and after the big Qunari gulped down a greater health poultice, the trio moved towards another ogre.

-==0==-

Alistair and Cauthrien were occupied with the other ogre alpha, playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse where one baited the ogre to attack and tried to block or dodge while the other attacked from behind or the side. They were gradually whittling down the ogre's health, but finally their luck ran out and the ogre caught Alistair with a kick that overwhelmed his defenses and knocked him on his back. Momentarily stunned, the warrior couldn't avoid the follow-up attack where the ogre raked a claw downward and plunged its razor sharp talons through his thick drakeskin armor and into his stomach.

Cauthrien slashed hard at the ogre, trying to draw its attention from Alistair. However, the huge darkspawn wasn't going to be denied its prey. Seeing Alistair in grave danger, Zev switched from his bow to his daggers on the run and leapt up onto the ogre's back, plunging both daggers into the back of the beast's neck. That was enough to distract the ogre from the warrior lying at its feet, and it spun around in circles trying to shake its attacker. Alistair took advantage of the reprieve to scoot on his rear further out of the way and to choke down a potent health poultice.

Zev held on, using his daggers embedded in the beast as impromptu reins, but the ogre was swinging violently from side to side and causing the physically slight elf to bounce around in bone jarring fashion. The assassin pulled one blade out and attempted to slash the beast's neck, but a sudden twist caused him to lose his grip altogether and sent him falling forward over the ogre's shoulder. The ogre snatched the little elf out of mid air and clamped its fist down hard in an attempt to simultaneously squeeze the life out of its enemy while crushing its bones and organs.

Zev couldn't even gasp in pain under the crushing pressure, and his vision started going dark. Cauthrien took a running start from behind and leapt, putting all of her weight and momentum behind a thrust of her greatsword in the manner of a lance attack. The impact of the silverite blade penetrated the thick hide of the darkspawn, and her sword didn't come to a stop until well after it had exited the beast's chest cavity. In the middle of the blade sticking out from the front and back was a skewered heart. The ogre immediately froze, relaxing its grip on the elf as it keeled over dead.

Alistair helped Zev get a poultice down while Cauthrien retrieved their weapons from the fallen foe and watched for more threats. The damage had been done, however. Zev's right arm had been broken at the elbow and shoulder socket, and a poultice wouldn't fix that. He'd require more extensive healing than what they could accomplish on the battlefield. Alistair pulled an injury kit from his pack and wrapped the Antivan elf's arm in a makeshift sling that immobilized the arm against his body.

"I guess you'll have to head off to slay the dragon without me, eh?" Zev quipped.

Alistair recognized that the assassin's tone carried an undercurrent of regret and concern. Trying to set him more at ease, he grinned and jested, "It's only fair you know. I mean, you did get to kill the last one after all, while I got left behind."

Cauthrien raised an eyebrow curiously. "Just how many dragons have you guys encountered?"

"The archdemon will be the third," Zev answered, "though we only killed one of them before. We left the other alone."

The knight shook her head in amazement. "You guys are unbelievable."

Alim, Leliana, and Sten approached. With the help of the royal forces and Circle mages, the darkspawn in the courtyard had been cleaned out. Noticing Zev's condition, Alim asked in concern what happened. After Alistair briefly explained, Zev sighed. "Since I'm stuck being left behind, say hello to the archdemon for me. He never writes anymore, it's rather distressing."

The others smiled politely, but the mood was a bit somber at having to leave Zev out of the fighting to come. Alim sighed deeply. "Use your stealth skills to stay safe. Head back towards the city gates, and if the coast is still clear go ahead and make your way back to the camp and check in with Anora. Let her know we have at least gotten this far, and then get that arm treated if you can."

After Zev nodded in response, Leliana sheathed his daggers for him and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Be well, Zev," she said softly. "We will see you soon."

Zev turned away and slipped into the shadows before his expression revealed the emotion that was bubbling to the surface. Until fate brought him into the Grey Wardens' lives, he'd never experienced such open and caring friendship. He'd thought his relationship with Taliesin was like that, but in hindsight he knew there was a guarded quality to it that wasn't present with Alim and Leliana. And even Alistair, who had been strongly opposed to Alim's decision to spare the Crow assassin, had come around to the point of being genuinely warm to him. He realized that he cared for them even more, and really hoped the bard was right when she said they'd see him again soon.

Alim tried to animate the ogre alpha before leading the army inside Fort Drakon, but found himself unable to do so like he had with a regular ogre in Redcliffe. And with neither of the other two ogres being suitable since they had exploded into many chunks of scarred flesh and bone, he instead walked around briefly until he found a dead hurlock alpha. He successfully animated the hurlock, and after jokingly introducing it to a very wary Cauthrien, who was experiencing yet another first for her since meeting the elven Grey Warden, the group led the army inside.

-==0==-

"You will forgive me if I never want to step foot in this place again," Alim groused to Cauthrien as the group walked through the room that had a door leading to the roof of Fort Drakon at the far end of it. "I cannot seem to come here without my life being in constant jeopardy."

Cauthrien grinned slightly at him. "So I shouldn't suggest to the queen that Fort Drakon would make a fine castle for her general to live in and preside over?"

Alim flashed a look of horror. "You would not do that to me, would you?"

She shrugged and began to walk off before glancing back and winking, causing Alim to chuckle. This playful camaraderie was still very new to her, but seeing the general banter back and forth with all of his companions had slowly warmed her up to it. She was starting to feel comfortable enough around them to try to join in. Reflecting on it later, the knight would realize that despite the stakes and the near constant danger, she was having the time of her life.

-==0==-

The top of Fort Drakon was a large area enclosed by stone walls notched in typical alternating fashion. The slate roof was relatively level for the most part, though in the center it rose up to form a bridge that connected the two halves of the fort. A quartet of ramps led away from the center to armaments another level up from the main part of the roof. A series of watchtowers stood at regular intervals along the perimeter. Statues of the kings of old were scattered on pedestals, prominently overlooking the surrounding lands. The more pressing visual interest, however, was the 75-100 darkspawn there to greet them.

"Get through the door quickly! Spread out!" Alim shouted before casting a _fireball_ spell at a group of charging hurlocks and genlocks. Opening the door to the roof had drawn the attention of the large number of darkspawn lingering about. The elven warden's immediate concern was getting his party plus the fifty or so soldiers and fifteen mages into the battle without the darkspawn keeping them pinned inside on the stairwell. He'd have sent his animated dead companion forward as fodder to occupy the attention of the enemy, but he'd already done that a couple of skirmishes back and hadn't raised a replacement.

Running forward, he lashed out with a _cone of cold_ that momentarily stopped the advance of half a dozen enemies. His mind was trying to figure out how to deal with another advancing group in order to buy his troops more time to get through the door when another _cone of cold_ erupted from his side and froze them in place. Alim glanced over, expecting to see one of the Circle mages, but to his surprise it was Morrigan. The shock must have been evident on his face, he thought, because the slight smile she wore at seeing him quickly turned to a scowl. She silently gestured with her staff towards an ogre that had taken an interest in the mages, and then took off running to get away from the ogre's charge.

The ogre rammed into the frozen darkspawn, an act of mindless aggression in its effort to get at the little elf behind them, shattering them into chunks of ice. Alim instinctively raised his arms to cover his head and face from the ice pelting him, but in doing so missed the ogre winding up to smash him.

Leliana knew what was about to happen even before ogre started drawing its clawed fist back. She sprinted towards her warden and dove, fully stretched out in the air as she tackled him out of the way of the strike at the last moment. Hitting the ground, Alim heard her screech loudly in pain. Rolling over, his eyes opened wide in dismay at the sight. The ogre's massive fist had missed him, but not her. The blow had connected with the lower part of her left leg, the force behind it driving her leg down on to the stone roof while the momentum of her dive was carrying her sideways. The result was her ankle and fibula bones of her left leg snapping, with her foot currently pointing in a very unnatural direction and her calf swelling rapidly. Reflexively, Alim cast a _mind blast_ that for the moment stunned the ogre.

Alistair jumped in front of the ogre, waving his _Keening Blade_ and taunting the beast in an effort to get its focus away from the wounded bard. It worked, as soon as the ogre recovered from Alim's mental attack it roared at the former templar. Mindful of the situation around him, Alistair backpedalled slowly to the side, turning and drawing the enraged ogre further away. Sten and Cauthrien ran to Alistair's aid, and with him triangulated the large darkspawn and hacked away. Alistair focused entirely on defense, avoiding whatever attacks he could and absorbing the rest with his shield.

Alim was already starting to panic at the sight of Leliana on the ground in obvious agony, but recovered enough focus to cast a _heal_ spell. He knew it couldn't fix her leg, but he hoped it would take the edge off of her pain. He then gulped down a lyrium potion and unloaded a _crushing prison_ on the ogre. The huge beast shook under the pressure squeezing it and stopped attacking Alistair while trying to break the invisible hold on it. The trio of warriors converged and went on the offensive, stabbing, chopping, and slicing the huge darkspawn. Alim chipped in arcane bolts and a _stinging swarm_ from range, and the beast collapsed under the combined attack.

The rest of the army had made it on to the roof by this point and were actively clashing with the darkspawn forces. Having a reprieve from immediate threats, Alim dropped to his knees next to Leliana, who was chugging a potent health poultice in an effort to numb the pain.

He stared at her in disbelieving anguish. "I-I c-cannot fix this…" he lamented. "I cannot fix this!" he repeated, this time a shout of frustration with himself.

"I kn-know…" Leliana uttered, grimacing through clenched teeth.

Their other companions gathered around, partly to defend their completely distracted leader if necessary, and partly to observe what was going on. Moments later, Morrigan and Scorch trotted over to join them. They could see the archdemon circling at the far end of the roof.

"I need a healer, now!" Alim screamed. "Someone find a stretcher! I need a group of soldiers to escort her safely out of here!" His voice was cracking with raw emotion.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced up to see Cauthrien wearing a very pensive expression. "Alim…" she began. "The dragon is over there, with a host of allies. I… I know how much Leliana means to you, but it wouldn't be prudent to divert resources that are greatly needed to fight."

"Sh-she's right," Leliana whispered painfully. "Y-you must l-leave me here."

The elven general scowled in anger. "Fine! Take everyone and go after the archdemon. I will stay here and protect her myself!"

Despite the pain she was in, Leliana reached up and snatched his collar, yanking him down so that his face was near hers. "You w-will not!" she hissed. "You are a Grey Warden. Y-you will do your duty!"

"I-I c-cannot… I will not… w-will not leave you…" he choked, resting his forehead on hers.

She felt his tear drops drip on to her skin. She had already shed her own from the physical pain, but now those were being joined by tears of grief. "You m-must," she whispered.

"N-no…"

It hurt her to use this manipulative tactic against him, but she couldn't let him choose love over duty, even for her. "P-please, my d-dearest one, if I mean anything to you… s-slay the archdemon and end this now."

"Lel… I-I… " he began, faltering.

Leliana knew she had him on the ledge, and pushed him over. "_Please_… if not f-for Ferelden, th-then for m-me…"

Alim closed his eyes and sighed deeply, exhaling a ragged breath. "O-ok-kay…" he finally replied, his voice barely a whisper. He stayed without moving for a long moment, trying to gather his courage to leave her here helpless if more darkspawn showed up. Finally he pulled back and stared into her eyes. "Je t'aime, ma très chère Leliana."

She tried to smile, but her trembling lips wouldn't cooperate. "I-I love you t-too. Now g-go, _please_."

Alim leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips before nodding somberly and standing up.

After taking a few steps, the elven warden suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes narrowed in concentration and he stalked over to the fallen ogre that was the source of his current problem. Focusing all of his willpower, he cast _animate dead_, sighing in visible relief when the fallen darkspawn arose under his control.

Pointing to his wounded wife, Alim sharply instructed the undead ogre to stand guard over her and to follow her orders. He didn't feel much better about leaving Leliana, but it was better than nothing. The little arcane warrior looked towards the far side of the fort and mentally calculated the distance he would be from his thrall. Satisfied that he wouldn't be so far away that he'd lose mental control over it, he nodded once and motioned for the others to follow as he stalked with determination towards the battle carrying on.

-==0==-

"Plan?" Alistair asked, falling in stride with his fellow Grey Warden. Scorch trotted on the other side of him. Sten and Cauthrien trailed behind them, while Morrigan followed a little further back.

Alim didn't even spare a glance to his friend. His eyes were focused on the dragon some 75 meters away. "The archdemon is our mark," he said in an uncompromising tone loud enough for all of his companions to hear. "Do not engage anything else unless you are forced to." His pace picked up and his brisk walk turned into a light jog and then a full out sprint. Other than Scorch, his companions couldn't match his foot speed, but they ran hard as they tried not to get too far behind.

The elven warden skidded to a stop as the archdemon suddenly swooped down from its circling flight and landed in front of him, crushing a soldier and pair of hurlocks under its massive clawed feet in the process. A few archers from the royal army began firing on the dragon, which turned and almost seemed to sneer at them as it belched out blue flames that torched the would-be assailants. It then spun and tail whipped a group of soldiers clashing with a group of darkspawn, sending the whole lot of them flying over the end of the roof and plummeting to their deaths below.

Alim muttered a short prayer, trying to calm his fraying nerves. The only thing giving him any sort of confidence was the knowledge that he'd felt the same way when Flemeth transformed into a red dragon, and though it was close they'd managed to take her down with just four of them present. They had much more support than that now, and were even stronger individually than they'd been at the time earlier in their adventures. He dug through his pack for a greater warmth balm, rapidly applying it to provide additional protection against fire as the archdemon turned its attention towards him. Alim realized that his own fire-based magic was going to be ineffective against the fire resistant dragon, so he cast the cold-based _winter's grasp_ at the beast and then immediately followed up with an arcane bolt.

Scorch dashed towards the dragon, leaping on to one of its legs and trying to sink his teeth into the thick scaled hide. Despite the powerful bite and sharp teeth, he was barely able to pierce his enemy's flesh. The archdemon flicked his leg as if the Mabari warhound was little more than an insect to be shooed away, sending him bouncing and rolling across the slate roof.

Alim cast _telekinetic weapons_ on his and his companions' weapons, improving their ability to penetrate the archdemon's hide with their blade, while Morrigan cast _frost weapons_ to enable them to inflict cold damage with their attacks. She then cast an _affliction hex _and _vulnerability hex_ on the archdemon to lower its resistance to elemental attacks before taking a greater lyrium potion.

The archdemon shifted its attention to the witch, stomping towards her. Just as it reared back and shot its blue flame out, Morrigan countered with a _cone of cold_ that extinguished the flame and caked a layer of ice onto the dragon's head. She then shapeshifted into a wolf and sped away before she could be attacked again.

Sten and Alistair attacked the side of the archdemon, while Cauthrien brought her blade down in a vicious chop that severed off a third of its tail. The archdemon shrieked, raising itself off the ground with its wings and creating a powerful vortex of wind that knocked everyone nearby down and blew them back while engulfing them in a purplish cloud that wounded them continuously until they crawled out. It then flew a short distance away, landing on more soldiers that were fighting its minions. It was trying to free up some allies to at least slow down these enemies that had injured it.

Alim and the others crawled to their feet and took off running in pursuit. Out of the corner of his eye, the elven warden saw Arl Eamon and a band of Redcliffe soldiers fighting a group of darkspawn. He wasn't expecting the arl to lead reinforcements, but he certainly wasn't going to turn him away. Alim fired an arcane bolt at the archdemon, completely ignoring the other darkspawn present as he continued to charge in. He thrust _Spellweaver_ into the underbelly of the dragon, which roared again and kicked the little elf away. Alim bounced and skidded before coming to a stop in an ungraceful heap. He groaned, but before he could do anything else he felt the familiar warmth of a healing spell washing over him. Pulling himself back to his feet, he saw First Enchanter Irving nod at him before turning his attention elsewhere. Alim didn't have time to contemplate his own amazement at the First Enchanter being involved in the battle, as a hurlock was getting ready to swing its heavy maul at him.

The elven arcane warrior threw a _flame blast_ that halted the attack and wounded the hurlock, then swiftly plunged his sword through the darkspawn to end its life. Kicking it free of his blade, he returned his focus to the archdemon, which was again taking hits from the trio of Alistair, Sten, and Cauthrien. Scorch was helping by going after hurlocks and genlocks that were trying to aid the dragon. Morrigan had shapeshifted back to her human form, and was pelting the dragon with energy bolts from her staff from a long distance. She was doing her best to help while at the same time not drawing darkspawn attention to herself.

The archdemon slapped away the two male warriors with a heavy claw before flapping its wings and taking flight once again. It spit a _spirit smite_ spell that slammed into the ground surrounding the warriors and inflicted significant damage on them with the resulting splash. Before flying off, it fired an attack that caused the hurlock alpha clashing with Scorch to explode, severely wounding the hound and weakening Alistair and Sten even more. Morrigan and Alim simultaneously cast _heal_ on Scorch, while the two male warriors took poultices to supplement their health. Neither was at full strength, but it would have to be good enough.

Alim again arrived first where the archdemon had touched down, casting _combat magic_ and _shimmering shield _on the run. He leapt into the air and plunged _Spellweaver_ into the back of the dragon. He could see where Riordan had previously injured the archdemon. Almost immediately the archdemon took to the air again, and not wanting to share Riordan's fate, Alim let go and rolled off, falling twenty feet to the stone below. Dragging himself wearily to his feet, he shook his momentary disorientation and then looked incredulously at his own empty hand. He'd lost his sword, which was still stuck in the back of the dragon.

"How stupid was that?" he growled loudly to himself. He pulled _Vigilance_ out of his boot sheath, then scoffed at the notion of fighting the archdemon with such a short blade, even if it _was_ razor sharp.

"Is this the part where you strip out of your armor?" a voice from behind asked sarcastically. "Because if it is, I'm packing up and leaving now."

Alim turned to see Alistair smirking at him, holding out a longsword to him that he'd picked up from a fallen soldier. "I was not actually intending to fight naked with a knife," Alim grumbled in response. He took the offered sword before smirking slightly. "Thank you." He put his dagger back in its sheath and took off with his fellow warden to where they could hear the archdemon shrieking from.

-==0==-

Sten and Cauthrien continued to hack away on the dragon, which responded by spitting flames that singed both and forced them to back off. It then swept one of its front legs, knocking them both down, before spitting a spirit blast that caught Cauthrien and sizzled as if it were acid. She screamed in pain and rolled on the ground in an attempt to both make the pain stop and to get away from the dragon before it could attack again. The archdemon, however, fluttered forward, snatching the knight in one of its claws. It lifted into the air and was just about to toss her over the edge of the rooftop when a blue steel blade flashed and took off the claw at the equivalent of the ankle or wrist. The archdemon squalled at the loss of the limb, continuing to fly upwards even while its prey snared in its lost claw fell. Cauthrien landed unceremoniously with a head rattling thud. She groggily extracted herself from the sharp talons still surrounding her, and fumbled clumsily for a poultice from her pack.

The enraged archdemon targeted the Qunari, diving down and accelerating in its descent. It reached out with its remaining front claw to stomp the warrior. Sten responded by swinging _Asala_ over his head and bringing it to bear with all his might in a brutal chop. The highly sharpened blade claimed the dragon's left wing, severing it in a clean cut that left only the short stub that attached the wing to the dragon's back. Sten took the full brunt of the archdemon's own attack in the process, losing the grip on his sword as the beast slammed him in the chest, the force of the blow knocking him a dozen feet back into a wall. He felt the bone jarring impact even through his massive plate armor, and highly suspected internal organ damage as he spat blood and struggled to hold on to consciousness.

The archdemon screeched and flopped erratically after the loss of a wing. It could no longer fly, and in a last ditch effort to save itself it spun wildly and continually spit flames and lashed out. It killed foes and allies alike in this manner. Alim had attempted to attack the archdemon in this state, only to be swatted aside. Alistair was circling the dragon carefully, giving it a wide berth while trying to time an opening to get in and deliver the fatal blow. He got too close though, and a sudden spin tail whipped him, sending him through the air and crashing to the ground near Cauthrien.

"Alim! Now!" Morrigan suddenly shouted. She darted forward and nailed the archdemon with a _cone of cold_, temporarily halting its movement. The elven warden, spying Sten's greatsword on the ground, tossed the cheap longsword he'd been carrying and picked up the Qunari's massive blade. Alim wiped the blood from his lip from his earlier fall and resting the length of the blade on his shoulder, he rushed forward with fierce determination.

In a surprisingly graceful move for him, the elven warden leapt from the ground to the archdemon's back, then leapt as high as he could while turning the tip of the blade that was longer than he was tall into a two-handed overhand grip. In one smooth motion he pulled down with all of his strength, plunging the greatsword through the back of the archdemon's neck and out the front of its throat. The archdemon gave off one final, loud shriek of a death rattle before pure white light exploded from it.

-==0==-

Around Denerim, all eyes immediately turned towards the top of Fort Drakon, where a pillar of brilliant light erupted to the heavens. Even the combat between the armies of Ferelden and the darkspawn stopped while all parties looked upon the light. Instinctively, everyone knew what it meant. Cheers rose up among the ranks of the army, while the darkspawn disengaged and began to flee towards the city gates and out of Denerim. While many were ruthlessly cut down before they could get out, quite a few darkspawn managed to escape amidst the aftermath where the army was more inclined to celebrate than to pursue the remnants of the darkspawn horde that were no longer trying to attack them.

-==0==-

The elven warden gasped in intense pain as the light unleashed by the deathblow washed over him. He clung to the hilt of _Asala_ because it seemed the only logical thing to do. He prayed for the pain to stop. Suddenly, the dragon exploded.

The pain stopped instantly... as did all awareness.

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	21. Chapter 21

**AN: I apologize for the delay in getting this final chapter done. Here's what happened - I got about 5000 words into a rather straightforward post-battle epilogue along the same lines as the game, wrote myself into a corner, and finally decided it felt uninspired and drab. So I threw it all away and started over with a completely different approach. I admit in advance that this chapter is much longer than it needs to be (this is the longest chapter of the story by far), and is perhaps a bit rambling at times, but I hope you all will forgive my bout of self-indulgence in wrapping up Alim's tale.**

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* * *

_My dearest Alim,_

_So much has happened since we last spoke. I've started writing out the tale of our adventures, but I admit I find it hard to concentrate long enough to make much progress. Not just because of the many interruptions, but because my mind is so preoccupied. I thought I would take a break from it and catch you up on what has been going on._

_Though it has only been six days, in some ways it already feels like the archdemon was long ago. Perhaps that is because of all that has changed and is changing still. Queen Anora's coronation was yesterday. It was a magnificent affair, as grand and regal as you would expect of such an occasion. Anyone even remotely important turned out for the event. Well, other than you, of course. _

_To be honest, I did not stay long once the ceremony itself was over. The queen mentioned I was your wife, and after that I was asked variations of the same unanswerable question over and over. Not that I don't like talking about you. But what can I say at this point? _

_One of the queen's first proclamations was to grant Amaranthine to the Grey Wardens. Alistair accepted, naturally, and is making plans to go there to work on rebuilding the Grey Warden presence in Ferelden. Since Alistair is the Warden-Commander, can you believe that now makes him the Arl of Amaranthine? He jokes about it being a cruel twist of fate after only recently getting out of being king, but truthfully I think he likes the idea, especially since it will be a great base of operations for the Grey Wardens._

_Believe it or not, Oghren has offered to go through the Joining and become a warden. Typical Oghren, when Alistair reminded him that it's often fatal, he laughed and said he'd drank a lot worse stuff than a little darkspawn blood and was still going strong. _

_Zev managed to get to camp safely after he left us at Fort Drakon. The healers have done a lot of work on his arm. The elbow was apparently fairly easy to set, but the shoulder was a mess. What he told me a healer said was that his shoulder socket was more or less crushed, and there is only so much they can do when the bone is broken in so many small pieces. _

_He doesn't want anyone else to know, but it's likely he'll never regain full range of motion in that shoulder, particularly being able to lift his arm straight up over his head. I see the unspoken worry in his eyes. He fears he won't be as useful to us as he has been, and that as a result he'll be pushed away. Of all of our friends, could you ever have imagined Zev feeling insecure about anything?_

_After you finished off the archdemon (told you so!), Alistair led a squad of soldiers over to the alienage. He said it was to make sure the darkspawn were cleaned out. The truth was he went to find Neria. He found her holed up with Shianni and several others and brought her with him back to the palace, where we're all staying temporarily. Unfortunately, neither your aunt and uncle nor Elder Valendrian survived the attack._

_Alistair told everyone that he rescued her for you, but he is just as easy for me to read as you are. I can tell that he has his own interest in her, an interest that seems to be returned. They are spending a lot of time together. And she's been with him almost every time he has come to visit._

_After a day of rest, most of our friends have been spending their time helping around the city with the cleanup and repair work while waiting on you. Zev's arm limits how much he can do still, but as he says, his legs work fine. So he runs messages and delivers reports to Cauthrien on the various initiatives underway in the city. Cauthrien is trying to get the defenses in Denerim rebuilt as quickly as possible while also coordinating patrols between here and Redcliffe. Alistair and Neria have been working in the alienage during the days and then coming by to check on us before getting dinner and retiring. He jokes about Shianni being a slave driver, though he stopped using that term once I pointed out how insensitive it was, seeing as we only recently busted up the slave trade operation. But Neria says Shianni is very appreciative of the effort he's making to help. Truthfully, I think he's glad to have things to occupy his time with. _

_Something I forgot to tell you before. The day after the Landsmeet, Alistair and I went over to the alienage while we were out and talked to Neria about coming to live with you and me and heading up our housekeeping staff. She was very excited about it! But I won't be surprised if she ends up going to Amaranthine with him now. I will be very happy for the both of them if it works out that way. _

_Sten already plans to go back home. He is waiting though, and in the meantime is pitching in with some much needed heavy lifting. He says he will not leave until he knows what will happen with "The Little Hero." I know you would cringe at it, but Queen Anora called you "The Hero of Ferelden" at her coronation. And you know Sten. You've always been the little this or that to him – the little warden, the little mage, little one. He referred to you as the little hero at the beginning of the post-coronation reception, and well, that moniker might actually stick._

_Wynne is doing much better. She comes to check on you a few times a day, and we talk. Apparently First Enchanter Irving still tries to convince her to take over that position from him, but she is adamantly against it. She confided in me that she really doesn't want to spend what time she has left in the Circle Tower. _

_Wynne would deny it completely, but I think Morrigan's ongoing sniping about freedom had at least a little influence on her. Experiencing such extended freedom over the last year has a lot to do with not wanting to go back. She doesn't really know what she wants to do though, and says she might travel and try to help people all over with her magic. I was thinking that after you're back, you might recommend her to Anora for a court mage/advisor position. _

_From what I hear, Shale has been such a huge help around town, even if she still complains about the hopelessness and squishiness of humans every step of the way. I talked to her a little bit at Anora's coronation and she said she'll go back to the Deep Roads to help the dwarves with the darkspawn. I think she feels like that's the best way she can honor both Caridin and you._

_The healers put my leg back together, but they say I'll be in this positively hideous looking splint for another few days. I suppose I can't really complain though. Especially not after during one of Irving's visits, he pointed out that if I didn't have access to healing magic then at best I'd be looking at six months or more before being able to walk without a brace, and at worst the leg would have to be amputated at the knee. _

_Truthfully, only being able to get around on crutches has mainly been a convenient excuse not to go anywhere, one I suspect is easily seen through. Though under the circumstances I think people are willing to cut me a little slack. Other than attending Anora's coronation, I have not left the room longer than it takes to go to the washroom. The queen has even graciously seen to it that meals are brought to me. Many visitors come throughout the day and evening, though fortunately most of the trite words of comfort people try to come up with when they are uncomfortable and do not know what else to say have stopped._

_The healers don't really know what to make of you at this point. What we do know is that you are alive, though unresponsive. The force of the blast was enough to shatter the blade of Sten's sword and to throw you roughly twenty meters. I knew something bad happened immediately because as soon as the dragon exploded in that white light, the ogre you had raised for me fell and disappeared. I tried to drag myself in the direction of where the archdemon had been, but I couldn't. Alistair came for me soon after and explained what happened, and that the first enchanter and a few other mages were already working on healing you. Alistair promised to update me as soon as possible, but insisted I be taken back to camp right away. _

_You had already been transported to the palace by the time I was able to get my leg set and released. With so many wounded it would have taken even longer, except that I was a rather bad girl. I got frustrated and started loudly telling people who I was, and well… let's just say there was a lot more urgency to get my wounds treated. I suppose being married to the Little Hero of Ferelden has benefits! Ha! Okay, okay, I promise not to keep calling you that! Anyway, I made sure Sten had his wounds taken care of too, and then he returned the favor by carrying me back to the palace. He knows I know what a big softie he really is, though he still denies it._

_I admit that after so long it is difficult watching you continue to sleep. At least that is what I tell myself you are doing. No one really knows. The morning after the battle, one of the healers suggested that your spirit might have disconnected from your body in response to the physical pain from the explosion of the archdemon, and that it might be lost in the Fade, unable to find its way back. I asked her not to speak of such things, but when she persisted I told her to leave and not bother finding her way back later. Maybe I overreacted, but was it really so unreasonable to expect at least the appearance of optimism out of your healers?_

_Speaking of the healers, they have been very consistent in coming by to check on you every few hours from 9:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night. Wynne is always here with a couple of the others for the first visit of the day. She comes back at noon and stays for lunch with me after checking on you. Usually it's other mages I don't know at 3:00 and 6:00, and then the first enchanter comes by with Wynne for the last visit of the night. He and Wynne have told me many stories of you growing up that I'd never heard from you, and it's obvious that he is very proud of you. _

_My routine has been fairly simple. With so much traffic in and out of the room, I maintain a polite distance from you during the day, sitting or laying on the couch. When there is some downtime from visitors, or like now when healers are here for you, I occupy myself with books, writing, and prayer. I steal glances of you on the bed from time to time. I haven't given up hope that one of these times I will look over and see your beautiful green eyes open. _

_At night, when it is quiet and we're alone, I move to the bed and snuggle up against you. I lay awake with my head on your chest, listening to your steady heartbeat. Sometimes I sing softly to you. I also talk to you a lot, about all kinds of silly things. I don't know if any of it reaches you, but it is not so very different than the many nights we shared in front of the campfire, with me carrying on with my stories for hours on end and you patiently listening. Did you ever figure out that I used to subtly quiz you the following day about things I'd told you, just to see if you really had been listening? _

_It has always amazed me that you never grew tired of my chatty nature. Alistair once joked to me that he was going to suggest to you that when people asked about your ear, instead of telling them about Ostagar, you tell them that I talked it off. I could not even muster an indignant pout in response. I know I'm that bad._

_I will not allow myself to even consider the possibilities of what will happen if you don't wake up. I cannot bring myself to think that after all we've done the Maker would take you away me from like that. I cannot imagine my life without you in it anymore. So, you are going to have to wake up, yes? When? Why won't you wake up? Do you realize how scared I am right now? Even if Morrigan insisted that she knew the ritual worked, I… worry that when you do wake up you won't be the same, that being the Grey Warden that slayed the archdemon caused at least some of its essence to destroy part of you. I know I should have faith that the Maker will preserve you. But I admit it grows more difficult each day._

_You probably want to know why I mentioned Morrigan, yes? Surprisingly, she came by to visit late the second day after the battle. I thought she'd have already left Denerim by then, but she had not. She said she'd heard that you had not come to after slaying the archdemon. I know you will be mad at me for a couple of things I did that night._

_The first was that I let her use blood magic on you. I knew it was wrong, but it's scary how easy it becomes to give into something wrong after you do so the first time. Morrigan pointed out that like at Honnleath, you didn't have to find out about it, and that even if you did it would be hypocritical for you to claim moral high ground over blood magic when it has already saved your life a couple of times. So why am I telling you this now? I don't know… maybe it is just that I can't stand keeping such dark secrets from you, and it is easier to tell you in a letter than to your face._

_The other thing you will be mad at me for is sending Scorch with her. He was reluctant to leave you, but he was also sad to see Morrigan leaving. She obviously cares a great deal for him. Even if she always tried to cover it up by insulting him, her slipping him extra portions or petting him when she thought no one was looking didn't go unnoticed by me. Or how she would go out of her way to heal him during battle, when she rarely healed anyone else but herself. I know we'll never see them again, but I told Scorch we loved him and asked him to take good care of Morrigan and her child. _

_Morrigan gave us a going away present of her own. A pair of rosewood rings infused with magic. The rings work in tandem and enable the wearers to know where the other is and get a sense of what they are feeling. She said that at one time she intended to give you one while she kept the other, but then she admitted that changed when you and I got together. Anyway, she gave us both the rings and wished us well, while also making it clear that she expected you to keep your promise not to come looking for her in the future. So far I haven't been willing to put the rings on. I admit I don't trust that witch at all. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third ring held by her that she'd use to secretly spy on us with. _

_It is almost time for my own appointment with a healer, so I'd better finish this up. I suppose I've managed to fill you in on most of what you've missed anyway. _

_I love you so much, my dearest one. I miss you. I am lost. I try to put on a brave face for the others, but I feel so overwhelmed. I need my warden. I need him to rescue me from this darkness I am in._

_Alim? Come back soon, please? _

_~Leliana Surana (yes, I know you know who I am. I just felt like writing my name)_

…

-==0==-

Alistair sighed gently at his friend's complete lack of enthusiasm. He understood why she was sullen, but he'd hoped that the change of scenery would improve her melancholy mood for at least a little while. If anything though, the bard was even more irritable from being hassled to go visit the alienage until she finally gave in, and from the physical limitations of being on crutches still.

"Anyway," Alistair said, gesturing around him, "a lot of the early work was just getting all of the dead out of here and cleaning up, but with that done we've been able to move on to actually repairing damaged buildings."

Leliana nodded solemnly. It wasn't that she wasn't impressed with the progress, she most definitely was. Her mind was just elsewhere.

Alistair and Neria made eye contact, exchanging knowing looks. Leliana was becoming increasingly withdrawn with each passing day, and it had practically been pulling teeth to get her to leave the room for even a few hours to go with them over to the alienage to see the progress they'd made. There was still a lot of work to be done, but Alistair was proud to show off how much they'd accomplished in the nine days since the darkspawn horde overran Denerim.

"Let's go see Shianni," Neria suggested. "I told her we'd stop by while we were over here today."

-==0==-

Trembling hands carefully refolded the pages of the letter before wiping tear filled eyes once again. Exhaling a ragged breath, he set the letter with his name affixed to the now broken seal back down on the nightstand and slowly rose from the bed, taking tentative steps towards the washroom.

Splashing cold water on his face, the elven warden looked at himself in the mirror. _"How old is that letter?" _he thought. He shivered slightly, partly from not having anything on but his smallclothes, and partly from having no concept of how long he'd been out.

"_I remember nothing after stabbing the archdemon. It feels like it was minutes ago, though it obviously wasn't." _

In Alim's mind the mounting questions and concerns were rapidly becoming a cacophony. He'd barely finish one thought when two more would take its place.

He looked for some clothes in the washroom and the bedroom, and was dismayed not to find any. Apparently no one expected him to get up and go anywhere. The letter said he'd been taken to the royal palace and he assumed that was still where he was, though he didn't know for sure. But unless he wanted to go exploring in nothing but his unmentionables, he was going to have to wait until someone came to check on him to find out anything more.

As Alim paced the room, his thoughts turning to Leliana. From the tone of her letter he knew she was suffering, and he wondered where she was, since at least when she wrote the letter she indicated she was almost always there with him.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks as a horrific thought came to mind. _"What if… it's been much longer… and everyone has moved on?" _He'd read fairy tales in books in the Circle Tower library, such as the one where a man slept for 20 years, or the one where a princess slept for 100 years until a prince woke her up with a kiss. Could he have been out for some crazy length of time?

He went back to the washroom and scrutinized his features in the mirror, studying himself intently for any signs of aging he didn't remember. He sighed after realizing that he looked basically the same as he remembered, and rubbed his face wearily. Pulling his hand away, he finally noticed the rosewood ring on the ring finger of his right hand. He glanced at the wedding ring on his left hand, and then back to the mysterious ring. He stared at it curiously. The grain of the ring seemed almost fluid, shifting in and out of various patterns nearly constantly. It also emitted a soft glow, and he wondered if it had been doing that the entire time and he just hadn't noticed until now.

It took a few moments, but he remembered from Leliana's letter what she said about Morrigan's rings. He realized that she must have decided to use them even though she didn't trust the witch. He didn't have the faintest idea how they worked or what kind of magic the glow was indicative of, but he closed his eyes and began to concentrate his thoughts on his bard.

A minute later his eyes snapped open and his mouth dropped open in shock. At first he thought it was his imagination, but he quickly dismissed that notion. He had clearly sensed a feeling of anxiety coming from what he gathered to be the other side of the connection, and he could tell that the location of it was not too far to the northeast of him. He stared in amazement at the rosewood ring. Alim didn't know what was going on, but now he was far too curious to sit back and wait for someone to come to the room to find him awake.

-==0==-

"Hmm? Oh… I'm sorry, what was that? I did not hear what you said," Leliana apologetically asked Shianni. She had drifted off in thought again.

The elven maiden shook her head slightly at the shem's obvious distraction. "I asked about your injury, how long it'd be before you're off the crutches."

Leliana sighed, speaking while running her fingers through her hair. "The healers took the splint off yesterday. I can walk short distances on my own without too much pain, but I'm not up to walking all the way from the palace here and back without help. It shouldn't take too long though to-"

"Leliana?" Neria asked, interrupting suddenly. The elf pointed at her hand. "Is your ring supposed to be glowing like that?"

The bard pulled her hand away from her head and looked at the ring on it. Realization set in immediately. "Alim!" she exclaimed. Looking at Alistair, she quickly added, "We must go _now_."

"Wh-what? Why? How do you know something is happening with him?"

Leliana shook her head. "I don't know exactly." She briefly explained the rings Morrigan gave them, and how the other one of the pair was on Alim.

Alistair tensed up, in part because this was more of the witch's mysterious magic, but mostly at the thought that his best friend might actually have woken up. "D-do you think he's awake then?"

"I don't know!" Leliana snapped in a tone much harsher than she intended. "Let's go!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, already," Alistair replied irritably. He didn't want to be too hard on her, but truthfully he'd been getting somewhat frustrated with her. To him it seemed at times she acted like she had a monopoly on suffering, forgetting that people other than herself cared about Alim.

Neria stepped in between the two of them. "Let's not fight, not now," she said softly. "Come on… Shianni, we'll-"

"Go on, get out of here," Shianni interrupted, smirking at them. Neria smiled and nodded in response.

-==0==-

"Alistair… I…" Leliana began as they moved towards the back alleys that led south out of the alienage. "I am sorry."

"Forget it… I know you're stressed," he replied, flashing a sympathetic smile. "Anyway, at least you didn't hit me this time." He was still sporting the bruised eye from the previous day when he'd made her mad. She nodded apologetically and kept walking.

After half a mile of the approximately three mile walk back to the palace, Leliana stopped and huffed. She was trying to walk as quickly as possible on her crutches, but it was frustratingly slow. "Wait," she requested. When the other two stopped, she handed the crutches to Neria. "Hold these please."

The elf looked at her in confusion, but took the crutches. Alistair was about to ask what she was doing when she put her hands on his shoulders to turn him around. Then she hopped up on to his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and hooking her good leg around his midsection.

"Hey!" Alistair exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"We'll go much faster if you just carry me."

"What? I'm not carrying you all the way back to the palace!" He squirmed, trying to get her to let go.

"Why not? You are big and strong, no? I'm not so heavy, you should be able to manage just fine."

Alistair was trying to appear indignant at being reduced to a pack mule, but it was made difficult by Neria's laughter. Finally he sighed in exasperation. "You owe me one," he grumbled while grasping her legs to help support her weight and beginning to march.

"More than one," she admitted softly near his ear. "Thank you for putting up with my behavior of late."

The warden grunted in response as he picked up the pace.

-==0==-

"Could use some help here!" Alim shouted. He had opened the door of the room and peeked his head out, but didn't see anyone around. When no one came after thirty seconds or so, he closed his eyes and gently banged his head against the door. He hesitated only briefly before deciding to go find answers, even if it meant potentially embarrassing himself by stumbling upon someone nearly naked. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the hall. Glancing right and left, he shrugged and arbitrarily decided to go right.

The elven warden turned down a corridor and went a little further before coming to another intersection. He stopped and sighed audibly, turning his head to the right since he didn't see anyone further straight ahead. He didn't see anyone to the right either, but before he could turn back to the left a voice loudly called out, "General!"

Alim turned towards the voice, spotting a pair of soldiers running towards him. Instinctively he dropped into a fighting stance, and being referred to as _General _barely registered in time for him to catch himself before casting a _flame blast_ at them. He realized the soldier must have his seen his momentary aggressive expression, because he stopped and held up his hands in front of him to show his intentions weren't hostile.

"S-sorry…" Alim offered. "You kind of caught me off guard there."

As the second soldier turned and sprinted back towards his post, the elven general smiled sheepishly and asked, "Anywhere a man can get some clothes around here?"

The first soldier chuckled. "General, you don't know how relieved everyone will be that you're up and going again. Come on, let's find you something to-"

"Alim!" a female voice shouted in a tone conveying obvious astonishment. The elf glanced around the side of the burly soldier to see Anora running towards him with the other soldier, Bann Alfstanna of the Waking Sea, and Arl Wulff of West Hill.

Alim blushed at the approaching female nobles seeing him in his current state of undress, and much to his dismay it was seemingly only seconds longer before the halls were practically flooding with people coming to see what the commotion was about. He closed his eyes, as if that was all that was needed to make everyone go away. _"Ugh… kill me now…"_

"Thank the Maker!" Anora exclaimed. She started to get close enough to embrace him, but stopped as she thought better of it. Social mores being what they were, it would not be appropriate for the queen to display such open physical affection for a nearly naked man, especially one that wasn't her husband. Anora opted instead to reach out at arm's distance and place her hand on his shoulder. "Everyone has been so worried about you," she added.

"C-can s-someone tell me where my clothes are?" the elven warden asked shyly, drawing chuckles and giggles all around him.

Alfstanna smirked. "You mean it wasn't your intention to go around showing off your body? Though I suppose it _is _rather easy on the eyes," she said teasingly. Although she was teasing, she wasn't lying. After more than a year of trekking back and forth across Ferelden on foot and fighting hundreds of individual battles in addition to the extensive training he'd done with his blades, the elf's lithe physique was well defined, corded with lean muscle.

Alim blushed further at the bann's remark, resulting in even more laughter.

"Was your equipment not in the armoire in your room?" Anora asked.

Alim groaned slightly. He'd looked in the couple of chests and the dresser that were unlocked, but hadn't considered that the locked armoire would be any different. Not that he had the key or the skills to pick the lock anyway. "It is locked… I did not know my stuff was in there."

Erlina squeezed her way through the crowd. Approaching the warden, she smiled softly. "Leliana went to the alienage today. She probably has the key, but I can get the armoire open anyway. Come." She took Alim by the arm and guided him back towards the room.

Anora told Wulff and Alfstanna that she'd resume their meeting later, told a group of guards to get word out immediately that General Alim was up, and then followed after the two elves.

-==0==-

"I have no concept of time," Alim admitted to Erlina as they walked. "How long has it been?"

"Has no one told you?"

Alim shook his head. "No one was around when I woke up, and I got curious enough to finally leave the room despite the lack of clothing. The guards outside the room you guys came out of were the first people I ran into."

Entering Alim's room, the bard strode over to the armoire while removing a lock picking tool from her pouch. "Nine days since the Battle of Denerim," Erlina explained while working the lock.

"Nine days…" he repeated softly, shaking his head in disbelief. "How is Leliana holding up?"

"Not well."

A few seconds later the lock clicked. A pull of the handles opened the doors to reveal the warden's armor, weapons, and equipment pack. _"Huh… someone managed to find Spellweaver after it was all over,"_ Alim thought as he took a mental inventory of his gear. He rummaged to the bottom of his pack, retrieving his casual black cotton pants and burgundy long sleeved shirt. While dressing he asked, "If she went over to the alienage, I take it her leg is better?"

"She is still on crutches, but when she stopped by to tell the queen she was going out for the day she mentioned having the splint taken off yesterday."

"But she is not doing well otherwise?"

Anora had entered the room by this time. "Leliana has been miserable," she answered. "Not even the healers knew if you'd pull through, or even if you did if your mind would still be intact. While most everyone else has had the rebuilding of Denerim to provide a distraction to their worry, she hasn't had much of a reprieve from it because she's barely left the room. I've stopped by most days for short visits, and could tell that having many visitors each day but no new answers was wearing on her."

Alim sighed deeply. "I suppose I had it easy, other than being very confused initially when I came to. In my mind it was as if it was only a moment after delivering the final blow against the archdemon. The only sense of time advancing I had was not still being on the roof of Fort Drakon and seeing daylight coming through the window instead of it being night. I had no awareness of anything in between."

Anora nodded sympathetically. "I sent one of my guards to the alienage to find Leliana. It shouldn't be too long until she knows and comes back."

Having finished dressing, Alim twisted side to side briefly before turning back to the queen. "My body is quite stiff and achy from lying down so long. Do you mind if we walk outside for some fresh air while we talk?"

"That is fine. Erlina, please run ahead and secure an extra guard detail to provide security. Mainly I don't want the Hero of Ferelden to be accosted by a host of well wishers right away. We will schedule a celebration of him soon enough."

Alim winced at both the title and the idea of being the focal point of a celebration. But he decided to hold his tongue on the matter until a little later.

-==0==-

Word of Alim's recovery spread like wildfire throughout the Royal Palace district of Denerim and out into the surrounding districts. He, Anora, and Erlina had barely been outside on the plaza in front of the Royal Palace for a few minutes before he felt uncomfortable with the amount of attention he was receiving in the form of shouts and cheers from people passing by. When he groaned after a particularly exuberant round of applause from a group of soldiers passing by on patrol, Anora chuckled softly.

"Better get used to your new celebrity status."

"Let's not make too big a deal out of me, _please_…" he implored. "I hardly did it alone. In fact, is there any chance of talking you out of holding that celebration for me?"

Anora shook her head. "None. Alim, it's not about whether or not you did it alone. No one thinks you did. But you led the charge to unite Ferelden, led that united Ferelden against the Blight, and then personally delivered the killing blow to the archdemon to end the Blight. By celebrating you, we will be celebrating the hope that you've given all of us. And celebrating-"

The queen suddenly stopped and put her hand up to cover her mouth. Her face lit up in obvious amusement and a couple of seconds later she started giggling. Seeing the look of bewilderment on her general's face, she pointed with her other hand down towards the road.

Alim turned to see the source of her giddiness, and his mouth dropped open at the sight maybe a hundred meters away of a huffing and puffing Alistair running with Leliana on his back. So transfixed was he on the two of them that he completely missed the elven maiden trailing a short distance behind them.

Alim took off running towards them, weaving his way through the crowd of guards and people milling about, making life difficult on the guards who had been tasked with staying between the general and the commoners. He circumnavigated his way down to the bottom of the plaza, squeezing between a couple of guards just in time to see Alistair stumble up the short hill between the road and the plaza and fall to his knees. Somehow he managed not to drop his cargo in the process. Even though the former templar was in top notch physical condition, running nearly three miles in drakeskin armor with roughly 140 lbs on his back counting the bard's _Shadow of the Empire_ armor was enough to have him panting audibly.

"Owww…" Alistair moaned.

"That looks like fun!" Alim exclaimed. "How much do you charge per ride? Can I go next?"

"I h-hate you… and y-your w-wife…" Alistair grumbled without looking up. He took a deep breath and added, "Welcome back, by the way."

Alim laughed. In a mock formal tone he replied, "Forgive my impertinence, my lord Arl Alistair."

"Ugh… y-you know about that already? It's your fault, you know." The smirk on Alistair's face quickly turned into a full blown joyful smile when he finally looked up to see his grinning best friend.

Leliana extracted herself from Alistair, took a couple of steps, and then jumped on Alim, knocking him down in the process. She landed on top of him as he landed on his back with a painful "oomph" escaping his lips.

"Sh-she is so abusive…" Alistair commented teasingly while still catching his breath.

Leliana didn't even hear him. Nor did she see or hear the crowds jostling around them, or the guards shouting while trying to keep order. The moment she looked up and saw Alim grinning at them after having asked Alistair for a ride, the rest of the world disappeared and all that remained was her and her warden. She didn't even attempt to speak as more than a week's worth of pent up anxiety spilled out in tears that were a mixture of relief and elation. She kissed him passionately before burying her face in the crook of his neck and holding on tightly, as if he was her lifeline.

Alim held his shuddering and trembling wife, stroking her hair and whispering soothing words. He didn't care either that this very public display was being witnessed by onlookers. He closed his eyes and held on to her just as tightly.

A few minutes later they heard a voice complain, "If they're gonna violate decency laws I wish they'd sodding hurry up and get to the good part!"

"Do not get your hopes up, my stocky little friend," another voice remarked.

"At least _someone_ would be getting some sodding action."

"If you wish to bed me, you only need ask."

"Wh-What? Keep your pants where I can see them, you swishy nug licker!"

Alim couldn't help but start laughing at the back and forth banter between Oghren and Zev. After a moment he collected himself and whispered, "Lel? How about I get talking to everyone out of the way and then I am yours alone for the rest of the day and night?"

"Mine alone? You promise, yes?"

"Yours completely, to do anything you want with."

Leliana wiped her face off on his shirt and then looked at him with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Anything?" she whispered. "I have a very creative imagination, you know."

"I am counting on that," he replied, winking.

-==0==-

"Where are you taking me?" Alim asked. A couple of hours had passed and all of the elven warden's companions had gathered from the various parts of the city they were working in. The group was joined by its latest member, Cauthrien, along with Anora, Erlina, and Neria, and was strolling down the road leading directly south from the Royal Palace. Two quartets of royal guards were walking twenty feet in front and back of the group respectively.

Anora smiled innocently. "You will just have to wait and see."

The group continued to chat easily, everyone telling stories of different parts of the Battle of Denerim and its aftermath from their perspectives.

"Hey, Sten?" Alim asked, noting the rather sad looking greatsword slung over the Qunari warrior's back. Its normal length had been cut more than in half and the blade itself was barely longer than the hilt before coming to an abrupt jagged end. "I am sorry about your sword. Are you going to get in trouble back home on account of me breaking it?"

"No. There is no dishonor in a weapon being damaged in battle." Gesturing to Cauthrien, he continued, "I was wrong to question your decision not to kill her before the Landsmeet. She helped me recover the broken pieces afterwards. The blade can be reforged."

Cauthrien smirked slightly but didn't comment on his statement about killing her.

Alim nodded. "That is good then. Still, I apologize for picking up your sword. Even if my own sword was lost and you were down, I should have found another way."

Sten shook his head. "Do not trouble yourself, Kadan. It is an honor that _Asala _slayed the dragon, even if it was in your hands and not my own."

-==0==-

After a fairly short distance, the guards leading the _procession _hung a left through a set of large wrought iron gates and into a courtyard in front of the second largest manor in Denerim next to the palace itself.

"The Arl of Denerim estate?" Alim asked in confusion, glancing at Leliana to confirm she was as equally confused as he was.

Anora practically beamed in pride as she stopped and produced a rolled page of vellum. She cleared her throat lightly. "By proclamation of the council of Fereldan nobility and by myself, Anora Theirin, Queen of Ferelden, it is with great pride that I welcome home the Hero of Ferelden, General of the Royal Army, and Arl of Denerim… Alim Surana."

Leliana gasped, while Alim's mouth dropped open in shock. "Wh-what? Wait… me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Is there any other Alim Surana standing here?" the queen asked sarcastically.

"B-but… I am hardly qualified to be an arl?"

"Like _I_ am?" Alistair interjected sarcastically, grinning at his friend.

Anora smiled. "You are a little rough around the edges, but your ability to influence and inspire others is extraordinary, and you've demonstrated several times to me personally that your reputation of having outstanding character is warranted. And as an added benefit, I am quite certain that your wife's occupational talents will be an invaluable aid to you."

"Like teaching you which fork to use at which time," Leliana teased, recalling his own example of how uncultured he was.

Ignoring his wife's playful taunt, he continued, "B-but… I am an elf… and a Grey Warden… and a mage… That makes me about the last person in Ferelden allowed to hold a title, no? I thought mages were formally prohibited from holding titles? And what about… what is his name… Vaughan?"

Anora chuckled softly. "You should not be so surprised that special consideration can be given to the one we all owe our lives to. As for Vaughan, his deeds that led to the earlier riots in the alienage apparently caught up with him. He was assassinated the day after you left for Redcliffe. With no other heirs to inherit the arling, it was left to my discretion to fill it. Because of your _background_ I formally requested support from the nobility and the Chantry first. None objected."

Alim shook his head, still in disbelief. "Wow… does that mean the Chantry will be loosening restrictions on mages?"

"Yes and no. The Chantry is not willing to let the Circle of Magi out from under templar oversight, but in light of the compelling arguments made by my new court mage advisor, there will be more freedom for mages to leave the Circle Tower and use their magic to help communities around Ferelden."

"You flatter me, child," said Wynne, smiling gently. "I merely pointed out that the contributions of the Circle of Magi during and after the Battle of Denerim showed that we are capable of doing much more good than being confined to the tower allows. The revered mother was particularly impressed by independent reports of our healers treating thousands of wounded soldiers and citizens in the days after the battle. She agreed that ongoing supervised outings would be beneficial both to the people of Ferelden and to the Circle."

Alim smiled warmly. "That is amazing, Wynne. I hope the Circle never forgets what you have accomplished for them. I know I will not ever forget what you have done for me."

"Oh, I think your own contributions may have carried more weight with the revered mother than those of any other Circle mage, so do not give me too much credit."

Shaking his head, Alim replied, "I cannot give you _enough_ credit. Without you I would have been dead before the last battle even got started. Not to mention dead before that in the Korcari wilds, dead in Orzammar, and probably dead in other places I am not remembering right now."

The elder mage rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, it's a wonder you survived as long as you did before I joined you."

Most of the elven warden's long time companions laughed as he blushed slightly. "Okay, you make a good point. But honestly, this is why I do not like receiving so much of the credit for our accomplishments. I know in my heart that it was a complete group effort. I could not have done it without you guys. There is not a single one of you that did not make a difference between the success and failure of our mission."

"So I can have your house then?" Zev asked playfully.

"I'll answer that for him. No!" replied Leliana, sticking her tongue out at the Antivan elf and drawing more laughter. "But," she added, "You are all welcome to stay with us whenever you're in town."

Cauthrien spoke up. "The estate was spared from the darkspawn attack and had already been well cleaned up after, well… your last visit here." She smirked slightly at the reference to when she'd captured Alim before continuing, "However, I took it upon myself to personally oversee the dismantling of Arl Howe's torture chambers and to have the dungeon in general cleaned up."

Alim and Leliana nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Cauthrien. We appreciate that," he said.

"Shall we go inside and take the tour?" Anora asked, already beginning to walk towards the front door.

-==0==-

The Queen of Ferelden led the group through the estate, stopping occasionally to have Cauthrien introduce members of the new arl's personal guard to Lord Alim and Lady Leliana. All total, 100 royal soldiers had been assigned to estate in varying capacities and shifts, not that they were all on duty and present. Anora also explained that a full staff was already in place, so everything was ready for them to move in immediately. At the same time, she pointed out that they were also free to make changes to the staff and guard detail as they saw fit.

Eventually they entered into Alim's new personal office/study, and the elven warden gasped in disbelief. Hanging on the wall across from the desk was a 3'x4' framed portrait of the archdemon, a blown up color version of the pencil drawing Alim made in the Deep Roads.

Cauthrien laughed at his reaction. "I hope you do not mind, but I took the drawing of the archdemon you gave me to one of Denerim's finest painters and had this made."

"You were that confident that I would recover?"

The knight grinned. "I was hoping that you'd pull through and get to see it for yourself. But if you didn't, I would've come and taken it back for myself."

Gesturing at Alim, Leliana commented, "It is a lot nicer than _his_ suggestion for home décor." When Anora and Cauthrien gave questioning expressions, she explained, "He told Arl Eamon and Bann Teagan that he was going to kill the archdemon and then have its head stuffed and mounted and put on display in his estate."

Alim blushed. "Well… I ummm… was perhaps in a somewhat foul mood at the time I made that statement."

"Somewhat?" Alistair asked sarcastically. "I think even Leliana was close to hurting you for the way you were behaving. I still can't believe she decided to surprise you later that same evening with the wedding."

Alim paused. There wasn't anything he was really willing to say in response right now, any truthful answer would have to include a mention as to the circumstances involved, and would only invite more questions he didn't want to address.

Leliana saw her husband's expression subtly shift and realized what he must be thinking. Covering for him, she grinned and said, "Fortunately I have seen him at his best many, many more times than I have at his worst like that." She ruffled his hair playfully, a simple act she was pleased to be able to do since he'd left his cloak off. He smiled sheepishly while the others laughed.

"Speaking of the wedding," Leliana added, "Anora, do you mind if Alim gets a vacation before assuming all of his new duties? He owes me a real honeymoon. A near non-stop trip across Ferelden on foot in order to then fight for our lives does not really qualify as far as I'm concerned."

"Of course not, that sounds like a great idea," Anora replied. "Have you already decided on where you are going?"

Leliana nodded. "I want to take him to Val Royeaux, for him to see where I grew up. And since we have a permanent home now, there are a few personal things I left behind when I came to Ferelden that I would not mind retrieving. Not to mention doing some clothes shopping."

Alim raised an eyebrow curiously. She'd mentioned once or twice during their journeys how she'd like to take him and run away back to Orlais, but it always seemed like a flight of fancy, a form of escapism that she engaged in to avoid facing their reality for a few moments. He didn't object to going, he was just taken by surprise.

The queen appeared thoughtful. "That sounds wonderful. Could I trouble you to take a letter to the empress while you're there? I promise I won't ask you do anything else on your trip."

Leliana smiled. "Of course. I expect we will be gone about a month. I know you want to have that celebration for Alim, and we'll want to see our friends off that are leaving Denerim to return home, so it will likely be a week or two before we depart."

Alim groaned at the mention of the celebration, drawing a slight glare of disapproval from the queen. Seeing her expression, he sighed. "Okay, okay, I will behave and put on a happy face even if I would rather go fight another dragon than having everyone carrying on like it is all about me."

Zev's eyes lit up at the mention of fighting another dragon. Perhaps he could talk his friend into it after all.

Leliana shook her head while grinning at his unease over all of the accolades coming his way. "Anyway," she continued, "if Alistair is ready to go by then, we might accompany him to Amaranthine and take a ship from there to Val Royeaux."

Alistair nodded, his eyes going distant and his expression turning contemplative. Alim wondered what he was thinking about, but decided not to ask right now in front of everyone.

Anora took the momentary pause in the conversation as her cue to move on. She continued leading them around the large estate. After finishing the tour they all went back to the palace, though for Alim and Leliana it was only long enough to retrieve their stuff from the guest room before returning to their new home.

Sensing that they wanted some time to themselves, Zev gently teased that perhaps it would be best if everyone else waited until the next day to join them at the Arl of Denerim estate. Alim smiled gratefully at his fellow elf when the others seemed to get the hint and went their separate ways for the day.

-==0==-

"How is your leg holding up?" Alim asked in a concerned tone as they entered the courtyard in front of their new home. She had jettisoned her crutches before they went back to the palace, saying she could make it the fairly short distance there and back to their estate without them. Even though she hadn't complained, it hadn't been lost on him that halfway on the return trip she'd moved from holding his hand to putting her arm around his shoulder, and by the time they actually reached home she was leaning on him quite a bit.

"Cramping painfully," she admitted, squeezing his shoulder for support. "But we are almost there and I can get off my feet."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Alim turned and swept her off her feet and into his arms. "I wish you would have told me," he said, sighing softly. He uttered a few words, casting _heal_ on her while continuing to walk.

The bard's eyes opened in astonishment. "I… I am sorry, it… it did not even occur to me that you were strong enough to carry me while I am in full armor."

Before Alim could reply, another voice spoke up. "Good evening, my Lord, my Lady." The pair glanced over to see the guards stationed in front of the door bowing their heads in respect.

The new arl chuckled, thinking to himself how difficult it was going to be to get used to being addressed in such a formal way. But he wished the men a good evening in return and carried Leliana inside and through the estate until reaching the private chamber for the lord and lady of the estate. Alim briefly shook his head again in disbelief over how fancy it was compared to any bedroom he'd ever been in.

He laid Leliana down on the couch before pulling her boots off. He then sat down and pulled her legs into his lap, beginning to massage her sore calf and foot while settling into a comfortable silence.

"What is it that occupies your thoughts, my dearest one?" Leliana asked after awhile.

Alim sighed. "I was thinking again about the last part of your letter. I know how I would have felt if the roles were reversed, I am sorry to have put you through so much worry."

"Do not be. It isn't like you had any control over the situation either."

"Lel… I know you said you would not allow yourself to consider it, but truthfully, had you given thought to what you would do if I had not recovered?"

The bard shook her head. "No, and unless you want an eye to match Alistair's, you will not push me on it," she gently warned.

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, the other day Alistair was trying to get me to consider the possibility that you wouldn't wake up and to at least put some thought into what I would do afterwards. When he wouldn't take _no_ for an answer, I popped him."

"That sounds kind of… harsh."

"You of all people should know by now that I'm not all sunshine and roses. And you'd better know that I will not ever consider giving up on you."

Alim nodded slowly. "Well, hopefully the issue will not come up again for another thirty years or so, when we already know there will not be a choice but to let me go."

Leliana sighed. "My dearest one, you are so foolish sometimes." When he stared at her in confusion but didn't speak, she continued, "I will be going with you, of course. And do not even try to argue with me about it."

The elf gulped at the thought of her going on the suicide mission into the Deep Roads. "I would rather you not die at the hands of darkspawn, but I cannot say I would not choose the same if I were in your position."

"I will be in my mid 50s by then. Our child will be grown, we will have lived a great life together, and I could not think of a more fitting end than being by your side when-"

"Wait! Wh-what?" Alim exclaimed suddenly, interrupting when it finally sank in what she just said. "Child? Do you know something I do not? Are you pregnant?"

"Not yet."

Alim shook his head. "I told you a long time ago what Alistair told me. It is nearly impossible for Grey Wardens to have children."

Leliana smirked. "You fathered one with Morrigan, no?"

"But that was only because of the magic involved in that ritual."

"True."

Alim studied her expression carefully. She was still smirking in a way that indicated she knew something. He didn't understand why she was so matter-of-factly confident of his ability to father a child with her. Unless…

His eyes grew wide and he bolted from the couch to grab the equipment pack he'd previously discarded on the floor. Rummaging through it, he found what he was looking for – the letter Leliana had written to him. He quickly unfolded it and began to scan for what he was looking for. Finally he found it.

… _I know you will be mad at me for a couple of things I did that night._

_The first was that I let her use blood magic on you. I knew it was wrong, but it's scary how easy it becomes to give into something wrong after you do so the first time… …I can't stand keeping such dark secrets from you…_

He stared back at his wife in disbelief, only to find her knowing smirk was gone and her lips were trembling as if she was on the verge of tears. "That is how you know," he whispered hoarsely. "You had Morrigan perform a second ritual… on us."

Leliana didn't respond verbally, but she didn't need to for him to confirm of his suspicion. The increase in her trembling and burying her face in her hands told him everything. After a minute went by in silence, he softly asked, "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"I-I would never take advantage of you like that. I wouldn't have mentioned a child just now or left a big hint in the letter if I didn't want you to f-find out," she replied weakly. "I didn't state it outright in c-case someone else got a hold of the letter. I-I _swear_ I would have told you before we made love. And the m-magic is not permanent… it will only last until my next monthly cycle. It is y-your ch-choice if we conceive a child or let the window of opportunity close."

Silence took the room once more as Alim fell into thought and Leliana waited nervously for his reaction. He sighed several times, and finally asked, "You do understand that the child would effectively be born a Grey Warden, inheriting my taint? That he or she would be lucky to live past their 30th year?"

"Y-yes…" she answered quietly.

"And you know that the child could inherit my talent for magic, and if that happened would be taken to the Circle of Magi? You understand there would be no possibility of me agreeing to hide it like Arlessa Isolde tried with Connor, yes?"

"Yes…" she echoed softly. Pulling her hands away from her face, she looked up at him and suggested, "But… perhaps the Chantry would agree to release the child to the Grey Wardens? And then Alistair could assign you as the guardian, since you are, in fact, still a Grey Warden?"

Alim sighed. That was a possibility, though it wasn't something he'd count on. "Would you resent me if we lost our child to the Circle, it being my fault that he or she got cursed with magic?"

"Do not… do _not_ call magic a curse," she replied in a somewhat defiant tone. "You have long since proven it is capable of doing great good."

"Would you resent me?" he asked again in response.

"You remember what I said earlier about being foolish sometimes, yes? In case you were not aware, this is another one of those times." She was trying not to be combative given the situation, but he was making it difficult by talking to her like she hadn't already spent days and days contemplating these issues and others.

He frowned at her reply even though he understood she was saying the answer should be painfully self-evident. When she didn't say anything else, he took a deep breath and quietly asked, "I… I have to know… do you even wish to be a mother, or is this about Morrigan having something of me that you do not?" He wasn't going to bring it up unless she challenged him on it, but her previously having pushed to get married immediately in response to Morrigan's ritual made him a rather leery that this was something similar.

Under different circumstances the bard would've gotten very angry at that accusation. However, she knew that at the moment she had no claim to indignation. Instead, she sighed deeply. "I admit that… I am not completely ready for it… if I had the choice we would wait a few years before having a child. But… I know it's unlikely you could ever father a child naturally. So when Morrigan came late at night and we were talking… I saw the opportunity… and… I decided that now is better than never. And I would have nine months to get ready for it, yes?" She looked away and put her hands back over her face when all she saw was a skeptical stare in response.

Alim slowly folded the letter he was still holding, walking over and putting it up on a bookshelf. With her face in her hands, Leliana only heard his footsteps walking away and completely misinterpreted them to mean he was leaving. She began to panic, but couldn't bring herself to look. The shudders wracked her body as she cried over how badly she had messed this up. As a result, she was surprised when she felt his arms sliding around her and her head being pulled to his chest.

Leliana pleaded with him, "We-we d-do not have to go th-through with it. Just… please… do not h-hate me."

"Shhhh…" he whispered. "I… this has taken me off guard. You have to understand that, for me, last night was the archdemon, and before that was the whirlwind of events leading up to it. So everything feels really fresh in my mind and I lack the perspective that you have gotten from days of reflection. I do realize you were not exactly able to ask my opinion at the time."

He sighed again as the thought came to mind that Leliana's letter indicated he'd been subjected to blood magic more than once without his knowledge. Knowing that was a topic for another time, he shook his head slightly and continued, "I… I admit I have never thought about having children. At the time Alistair told me about Grey Wardens being nearly sterile, I thought it was just a piece of Warden trivia that was irrelevant to me. I mean, I did not consider even being in a relationship a realistic possibility. So even after you dragged my feelings for you out into the open, I already assumed I was incapable of having children and never gave it any thought."

"I-I understand…" she said quietly. She did her best to hide the disappointment in her voice, thinking he was explaining why he was saying no.

He chuckled softly. "No, Lel… you do not. If you understood you would not be worrying yourself to tears." When she finally looked up at him in confusion, she saw his gentle smile. "That I never thought of it does not mean I do not think it is a good idea," he explained. "I trust you. If you say you want to have a child with me for the _right_ reasons, and you will not blame me if there are consequences I cannot control, I believe you. I…"

He paused. All at once it hit him how far her love for him went. He was blown away by the realization that his amazing, beautiful wife actually wanted to have a child with him, and wanted it badly enough to enlist her least favorite person to help. She hadn't said how the conversation with Morrigan went, but he imagined it must have been rather humiliating for her to ask the witch for this. He blinked back his own tears. "I… I am so sorry. I have been so very stupid about this…"

Leliana was even more confused by his abrupt change in tenor. When he didn't continue after a few seconds, she softly requested him to explain.

"I… I just realized… I have been standing here making you feel guilty about such an incredible gift you are trying to give me- us. You have given us a chance for something that likely would never have been possible otherwise, and I am stupidly grilling you about it when I should be _thanking_ you. Forgive me for forgetting just how lucky I am to even have you in the first place."

The bard giggled lightly as a feeling of relief began to set in. "Are you saying you're… okay with it then?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, it would make me very happy to have a child with you. I-"

She covered his mouth with her own, effectively silencing any further explanation as none was needed.

-==0==-

"So do you have any plans, Zev?" Alim asked curiously. The two of them, along with Leliana, Alistair, and Neria were sitting in the large reception room talking.

The assassin shrugged. "Not since you ruined them by waking up early and all," he replied playfully.

Alim raised an eyebrow curiously. "Early? How much longer was I supposed to stay out?"

Zev's eyes flicked briefly over to Leliana, not sure if she wanted him to say. When she simply nodded in response, he grinned. "Well, my friend, we were in the beginning stages of planning to go after a certain high dragon's hoard that we didn't get on our last visit to Haven."

"Zev!" Leliana chided halfheartedly. "That wasn't why we were going!"

Chuckling, Zev waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, yes, there was also that matter of seeing some old urn again. Minor detour, really."

The elven warden's eyes opened wide in astonishment. "W-wait… you guys were… going to go back to the Urn of Sacred Ashes… on my account?" He stared around the room in disbelief before his eyes finally settled on Leliana.

"I told you, I will not ever consider giving up on you," the bard replied matter-of-factly.

"I do not know what to say…"

Alistair chuckled. "One of these days, Mr. Hero of Ferelden, you're going to have to accept that you're worth the same effort you give others."

"I… I know you are just teasing, but… even though I still do not like this _hero_ business and think I am getting far too much of the credit… I am starting to accept that maybe I _do _have worth beyond being needed to stand in front of the archdemon. You know, early in our adventures I… felt guilty for being the one in my group of recruits that survived the Joining, thinking everyone would have been better off if I had died and one of the others had survived instead. Sometimes I felt like the only reason you all did not just give up and leave me behind was because of that Grey Warden status. I felt like that was the only reason anyone even cared that I was alive. And I hated myself for it."

"Alim…" Alistair began, but the elf kept going.

"It was like a cruel joke that I somehow got tabbed as the group leader. I mean, I was the least capable, least competent of the group. I thought it was some running joke with you all that I was not being let in on, just another way I was being made fun of. When I ran away, it did not even occur to me that any of you would come after me. I honestly thought your reactions would be happy, good riddance and all that. You cannot tell me that with what I grew up with and what I went through in the first several months of our journey that I had any reason whatsoever to think I had any real value to anyone."

"Alim…" Leliana said softly, "You won everyone over anyway. You gave of yourself time and time again, even when we were not very nice, and even your harshest critics came to respect and hold you dear."

Alim chuckled humorlessly. "And yet no one figured it out. Everyone kept saying how selfless I was, when all I was doing was desperately trying to gain acceptance, to make myself feel like I was more than a necessary burden for you all to bear. Some inspiring _Hero of Ferelden_, eh?"

An awkward silence filled the room as he finished talking, with no one really knowing what to say. Finally, Neria spoke up. "I don't buy that you only helped others to feel better about yourself. I mean, from what I hear, you helped people even when there was no real benefit to you, just because it was the right thing to do. And I do not believe you're capable of manipulating people on such a grand scale as you claim you did."

"Manipulating?"

"Yes, you are basically saying that you manipulated companions, nobles, and thousands of others into devoting themselves to your cause, that they believed in someone that wasn't real. Do you honestly believe someone like Leliana wouldn't see you for the selfish bastard you are claiming to be? You know, I didn't completely believe her when she told me how fragile your self-esteem is. I see now that I was wrong to doubt her."

Leliana sighed deeply. For as much progress as she'd made with him, she still had so far to go.

After another uncomfortable silence set in, Zev decided to try to lighten the mood. "So, about that high dragon's hoard… now that we don't have to go out of our way to get some more ashes from the urn, we can focus on the important part, the treasure, right? Slaying dragons is becoming old hat for you anyway, so what do you say, my friend?"

"Haven't we found enough treasure to last a lifetime?" asked Alistair incredulously.

"Still your tongue! One can never have too much treasure. Besides, you will need a lot of gold to rebuild the Grey Wardens, so think of how much the extra treasure would help." Zev winked at the human warden.

Alistair rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not a bad point actually. I… could probably be talked into making a trip to Haven still. I'd already been mentally prepared to go for Mr. Self-Confidence over there anyway."

Alim grinned slightly. "I am game if my decision maker says I can go."

Leliana shook her head, grinning while Zev and Alistair laughed. "As if the archdemon wasn't bad enough, you are _not_ taking me to fight a high dragon until after I get a real honeymoon."

"Fair enough, Val Royeaux first. Sten and Shale will be gone, and obviously Morrigan and Scorch are gone as well. We will have Oghren, assuming he survives the Joining, and maybe Cauthrien would be up for it. Wynne will think this is the height of foolishness, so I cannot see her going."

"We'd better bring a boatload of poultices and injury kits," Alistair suggested.

"No kidding," Alim agreed. "How about we tentatively plan to set out for Haven from here in three month's times? I am sure we will all be ready for a vacation from our new jobs by then."

While the others nodded, Neria shook her head, laughing lightly. "I take back what I said. You are simply insane, Alim, suggesting that you travel to fight a dragon as a vacation."

Leliana had a sly thought. "Neria, maybe if Alistair will teach you something of wielding a blade, you can travel with us. You would not be up to actually fighting the dragon by then, but you could fight other things with us along the way."

Alistair tensed slightly at the suggestion. Alim picked up on it and couldn't resist teasing him. "Yes, Alistair, tell me, what exactly are your plans with my sister anyway?"

"Plans? Who said I had any plans?" the former templar said weakly, drawing laughter. Neria blushed as well as having the attention turned on them. She had grown to really like Alistair during the brief time she'd known him, but he really hadn't given any solid indications to her that he thought of her as anything more than his best friend's sister and a friend herself. And she was an elf, after all, her brother was the only elf she'd ever known in a committed relationship with a shem.

Alim turned up the heat. "We are supposed to believe that following her around like a puppy dog and hanging on her every word does not mean anything? Have you told her you like her yet?"

Alistair's eyes were silently begging Alim to shut up all the while his face was turning redder from embarrassment.

"Do not be so embarrassed, my dear Alistair," Leliana remarked. "If you cannot tell by looking at her, she feels the same way about you."

Neria blushed even further, matching Alistair's embarrassment as the other three laughed gleefully at their discomfort.

Zev cleared his throat. "Alim, Leliana, I think now is a good time for you to perhaps show me where my room is in this lovely estate of yours? I am thinking it will probably take twenty or thirty minutes, so hopefully these two kids will be able to find something to talk about to pass the time."

Taking the hint, the lord and lady of the house stood up and left the room with Zev. Once they left, Alistair and Neria glanced at each other shyly. Alistair realized that he actually wasn't as nervous as he thought he'd be, because he trusted Leliana's ability to read people. If she said Neria liked him back, then it was probably true. And Alim didn't seem to have a problem with it, which was something he'd been somewhat concerned about. Alistair took a deep breath, and smiling tentatively he began to admit that what Alim had teased him about was true.

-==0==-

The _Hero of Ferelden_ shifted uncomfortably in place, trying not to make himself sick from the stress. In a few short minutes the doors to the palace would open and he'd step out before a crowd of thousands there to laud him.

"Stop it!" his wife chided in amusement. "You act more like a condemned man than one being celebrated!"

"There is a difference?" he deadpanned.

"You are hopeless…"

"Yep," he agreed, chuckling humorlessly.

"Try harder, dear, it's embarrassing," she teased.

Shale sighed again, prompting a curious stare from the elven warden. "What is with the heavy sighs, Shale?"

The stone golem looked down at the little elf. "Once this is over I shal leave with the dwarves to return to Orzammar and then the Deep Roads. It is puzzling to me, yet I find myself… sad? That is this feeling?"

Alim smiled. "It is okay to have feelings. I will miss you too, Shale."

"Oh, dear, I must find something to squish… soon. Let us find something to crush and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?"

"Shale… Take care of yourself, please? In thirty years or so, when it is my time to go to the Deep Roads, I… I hope to fight alongside you one more time."

Shale sighed deeply. "I suppose even the best flesh creature will meet its end eventually. But I shall be waiting for it."

"Thank you, for everything. It is hard to imagine sometimes that if not for a remark about darkspawn in Honnleath made in passing by a merchant we almost did not even stop to talk to, we would never have met you."

"Well, maybe I will honor it by saying thank you to every darkspawn right before I crush their squishy heads like a grape."

Alim laughed. "There is no need to go that far, I assure you. Speaking of honor, though, I was thinking. It is not really fair that the dwarves are called upon to help against Blights on the surface, but other than the Grey Wardens, the surface really does not return the favor. I am going to try to change that, to honor the dwarven sacrifice by organizing forces specifically to go into the Deep Roads and help push the darkspawn further back. As far as we were able to make it with just our group, I feel like with even a few hundred soldiers, the Aeducan and Ortan thaigs could be retaken, maybe even Cadash Thaig. A thousand soldiers could probably help retake and hold Bownammar."

Shale stared at the elf in disbelief. "It would do that?"

"Why would I not?"

"I… yes… excuse me, I must go squish something. Now."

Alim and Leliana laughed as the stone golem stalked away from them shaking her head.

-==0==-

"Kadan," Sten said simply. He entered the warden's study and found Alim by himself. He was leaning against the large red oak desk, staring at the portrait of the archdemon on the wall and lost in thought. The parade and public celebration of the Hero of Ferelden had concluded a few hours earlier, much to the uncomfortable guest of honor's relief, and he had taken the opportunity to slip away from the others for a few moments of solitude.

Alim glanced over at the large Qunari warrior. Sten wasn't one who revealed much with his facial expressions, but now he appeared almost… forlorn. Suddenly Alim understood.

"I… suppose it is time…"

Sten nodded. "Tomorrow morning I will board a ship and depart for Seheron."

The elven warden nodded slowly. "Knowing this was coming does not make it any easier. I know… I know we did not always see eye to eye, and that I frustrated you in many ways, but I hope you will remember our time together with at least a little fondness."

"There is not much of Ferelden I care to remember, but I will not forget the little hero. When I return to the Beresaad and they ask me if I found anyone worthy in Ferelden, I will tell them of you. You carried us through to the end, Kadan, do not doubt yourself."

Alim gulped slightly at the sentiment. "Will I ever see you again?"

"I do not know," Sten admitted. "You once asked me about the Arishok sending an invasion force against Ferelden. I promise you this, you will not see Qunari warships sail to your shores during your lifetime."

"Is that out of respect for me, or because you do not think you would win?"

"Yes," the warrior answered matter-of-factly.

The elf bowed his head slightly. "You do me a great honor, my friend. I will miss you. Errr… just you, not the warships."

"Naturally."

A short silence set in and Sten turned to leave when Alim had a thought. "Hey, I just thought of something. The queen promised a boon for all of my friends, and I do not think you have received anything. What is there we can send home with you?"

Sten shook his head. "I do not require anything for having done my duty."

"It is not payment, it is a gift. Surely there is _something_ of Ferelden you would like to take back with you?"

The Qunari pondered it briefly. "I would take a Mabari."

Alim grinned. "Consider it done. We will go over to the royal kennels before you leave tomorrow and you will have your Mabari."

"Thank you, Kadan."

-==0==-

The next morning, Alim and his remaining companions stood at the docks to see Sten off. The proud warrior smiled very slightly at the little warden. "Thank you again, Kadan," he said, gesturing in reference to his new warhound.

Alim nodded. "I know he will take good care of you, and you him." Sten nodded in response.

"I have a going away gift for you as well, Sten," Leliana said. All eyes turned to her as she pulled a rectangular box from her pack and handed it to him. "For your trip," she explained, smiling warmly.

Sten looked at her curiously before opening the box to reveal several dozen cookies.

The bard grinned at him. "Try not to eat them all in one sitting, you'll make yourself sick."

"I… I will take your advice."

"Oh! And this is for you as well," she said, handing him a folded sheet of vellum.

"What is this?" the warrior asked.

"You have bakers back home, yes?"

"Of course."

Leliana smiled brightly. "You once said that you did not have cookies in your homeland. That is Lady Cecile's cookie recipe, so now the Qunari can have cookies too."

Sten looked at her in surprise, causing her to giggle. "Be well, Sten. May duty and honor bring you happiness."

The large Qunari nodded. "Thank you." Motioning in reference to the little warden, he continued, "See that nothing takes him before his time. And do not let noble life turn him fat and slovenly."

"Hey!" Alim exclaimed while the others laughed. "I am not the one being lectured on eating too many cookies!"

After the laughter died down, Leliana smiled. "I will take care of him, Sten, I promise."

Nodding a final time to the group, Sten bid them farewell and boarded the ship with his Mabari in tow.

-==0==-

Walking back towards the Arl of Denerim estate, Alim couldn't help but note with a tinge of sadness that his group of ten companions was now down to six, and soon to be down to four that he'd see more than just occasionally. And really just three that he'd be around on daily basis – Lel, Zev, and Cauthrien.

Then again, it was going to be an even bigger adjustment to not living life out of an equipment pack and being ready to travel across the country at a moment's notice. It was going to be interesting, he thought.

-==0==-

.

_Alistair,_

_It was great hearing from you. I know you are feeling somewhat discouraged that the Grey Warden ranks are not growing faster, but do not be. It may seem slow going that our numbers are only up to 25 after the most recent Joining ceremony (which I apologize for not being able to make), but remember that you are doing it the right way, by recruiting only the best candidates. It may take years before our numbers rival those of Orlais, Nevarra, or Rivain, but our quality will be second to none. It has only been six months since we ended the Blight. Stay the course, you are doing great!_

_An interesting thing happened the other day as we were getting home from our short trip to Dragon's Peak (yes, I am still working my way through visiting the lands of every arl, bann, and teyrn in Ferelden in person – Bann Sighard's was the latest). I actually made it from the city gates to the estate without people stopping in the middle of whatever they were doing to stare at me, thank me, or ask me for something as I went by. I know it will never again be like the old days when we could walk around Denerim without anyone paying attention to us, but I will be happy if I can just go out without the stress of people gawking and making a big deal about me. Maybe I am hopelessly naïve, but I look forward to a day when I will be able to just go out into town without having to take guards with me for crowd control._

_Yes, Zev is still Zev, even though he is more spy than an assassin these days. Lel has worked quite a bit with him on the subtleties of reading and manipulating people. That combined with his already incredible stealth and blending in skills has made him very effective. He occasionally does jobs for the queen when Erlina is busy with something else or the situation calls for a male touch, though mostly he keeps tabs on things for me where Lel cannot. Everyone around here knows Arlessa Leliana, of course, which limits her potential at times. I think Zev feels a strong sense of pride in being respected for more than his ability to kill people._

_I still make it a point to go see Wynne at least once a week, though Lel still has lunch with her a few days a week. I wish you could have been there a couple of weeks ago to see her reaction when we told her we planned to name our baby after her. She was speechless! Yes, Wynne, of all people! I think I told you about the name already? Wynne for a girl and Wyn for a boy? Ugh… there goes my memory again… I have been in front of so many people of late that it is hard to keep track of who I've told what. If not, it was Lel's idea to honor Wynne for being the reason I am still alive (no, I did not remind her that Morrigan has just as much claim to that). _

_Speaking of the baby, Lel is finally starting to show. It is funny because that makes her both happy and unhappy at the same time. She gets emotional sometimes (yes, more so than usual), and I learned quickly to just listen to her and not try to "fix" things for her. She says she is nervous about being a mother, but I think she will be great. It is the father and Uncle Alistair that need to be watched out for! We will probably have the child so full of itself, he or she will be going around telling their mates how they were slaying high dragons before they were born and all. _

_Thank you again for not holding it against me that because of Morrigan I am not only alive, but am going to have this child with Lel. Even though you did not say it, I know it is not fair that I was able to benefit twice from the witch's blood magic, while you and Neria, if you ever reach the point of getting married and even wanting children, the possibility is almost nil. I will never say I regret having done the ritual that saved my life or regret Lel getting Morrigan to use the same magic to enable us to have a child, but I will also never completely shake the feeling of guilt._

_How is your dragon scale armor working out for you? I still laugh when I think about Wade's assistant freaking out when we came in and dropped half a dead high dragon on the floor and asked for six sets of armor made. And poor Wade, I thought the guy was going to have an orgasm right there at the thought of working with so much dragon scale. Anyway, to be honest, I mostly still wear my drakeskin armor because I have not broken in my dragon scale armor yet. I know I should just suffer through the initial uncomfortable phase and get it over with, but I suppose it has not seemed like something urgent when I am not in battle on a regular basis anymore. _

_Cauthrien and Zev wear their dragon scale armor all the time, though Lel still prefers her Shadow of the Empire drakeskin armor. She says it has too much sentimental value for her to give up. At least Wade did not charge us for any of it. Though I suspect he made enough selling other sets he made off of the leftover scale to more than offset the cost of making ours for free._

_I know you said not to worry about it, but I still have feelers out for info about Goldanna. Nothing has come of it yet. You are probably right in saying she likely got killed in the Battle of Denerim, with the way the market district got hit so hard, but it does not hurt to keep our ears open for any news._

_You said it is hard to believe that it has been six months since we took down the archdemon. For me it is almost the opposite. So much has changed that it seems so long ago now. Even if it has only been a couple of months since I last saw you, Oghren, and Neria, it seems longer when you have gotten so used to that day in day out camaraderie that we had on our adventures. Of course, I have not seen Shale, Sten, Morrigan, and Scorch since back then. _

_By the way, no, I have not changed my mind about hunting Morrigan down. I know you disagree with me, but I gave her my word I would not follow and I will keep my promise. I am sorry, I really do not care that those wardens from Orlais are still pressing us for the details about why I am still alive. As I told you before, I have no idea where Morrigan went and I do not know the magic she used in the ritual. She remarked that it was old magic from before the Circle of Magi was founded, which makes it Tevinter in origin. So they are better off going to the Tevinter Imperium and seeing what they can find out there than hassling us._

_Already the details of our adventures to stop the Blight are starting to fade. At times I will be telling a story or recalling something out loud and Lel will politely correct me on the things I've gotten out of order or wrong altogether. She is almost done writing her tale of our adventures and teases me that at the rate I am going, when she does finish and lets me read it, much of it will seem completely new to me. _

_The truth is, she uses humor to cover up that she worries about me, that this memory thing is a permanent side effect of either being dead briefly or of being comatose for nine days, and will only get worse over time. Wynne asked me about it a couple of times awhile back and was not exactly subtle. It was not hard to figure out Lel talked to her about me. I wish she would not worry so much. _

_I think more than anything it is just that other than the trip we all took to Haven, everything has been a whirlwind ever since she and I got back from Val Royeaux. Anora and the nobility have paraded me in front of so many people throughout Ferelden. And I've had so much on my plate as both the general and with the responsibilities of the arling in rebuilding Denerim. I think I am just rundown. I am less concerned that my mind is deteriorating and more concerned that I am being stretched to the point of breaking. It does not help that slaying the archdemon did not dispel the darkspawn from my dreams. I have not had many nights of great sleep in the going on two years I've been a Grey Warden. Of course, you know how that goes as much as anyone._

_Two years… it sounds like such a long time. Maybe it is Lel's influence, but I have begun to see my life as a series of acts in a play. I think the time has come to formally lower the curtain on Act III, the story of the Circle mage who became a Grey Warden, who leaned on the strength of his friends and countrymen to end the Blight and save our nation. I admit that Act IV is shaping up to be almost as daunting. But I take comfort in knowing that I am not alone in it. I have been blessed with the best friends and family a man could dare to hope for, and I know that with their help we will leave Ferelden to a better future than what we inherited. And when the final curtain draws on our lives, it will be a fine legacy indeed to leave behind._

_Maker's blessings, Alistair. Give my love to Neria. I look forward to seeing you again soon._

_Your friend, your brother,_

_~ Alim_

_._

* * *

**AN: The end :-)**

**Special thanks to everyone that has given feedback either in reviews or PMs, and thanks in general to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. I'm not one to ask for reviews much, but I'd appreciate it if those of you who stuck it out to the end wouldn't mind letting me know about the things you liked and didn't like with the story. It took on a life of its own seeing as the original scope I had in mind was the first two chapters, and there were plenty of times throughout the story that even I didn't know what little twist/variation was going to happen next until inspiration struck. But seeing the finished results six months later I'm glad I decided to keep going. **

**Thanks of course to Bioware for the great game/story that served as inspiration for this. **

**With Dragon Age II coming out in a few weeks, maybe I'll see you all again in the future with a story set there. Thanks again, everyone.**


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